Hard Luck
by AegisX-TAIL
Summary: Always knew you were a hard luck woman...' X's voice slowly trailed off. An encounter with Raven interrupted X's life. Now he's tangled in a web of violence, lust, corruption, and death... and Raven is at the center. Will X get the girl and keep his life?
1. Chapter 1 Another Boring Day

Hard Luck

By: **_AegisX_**

**_Due to the graphic nature of this program, viewer discretion is advised. NOT! Yeah, Looks like I have another titans fic, except that they aren't titans. They're just normal kids... well, kinda normal… shit, u'll see for yourselves… Yeah. Now since I don't do lemon scenes, all there will be here is suggestions and stuff like that… never the scene itself… yeah… let's begin_**

"**_Yes, there is no fate for us. Only those who are swallowed by ignorance and fear and fall into the river called Fate_**." – Bleach Volume 6

**_1. Another Boring Day…_**

"Mhmm… now that was good," a soft, sultry voice purred in his ear. 'Another day, another job… hmm… now what?' he thought to himself as he lay in a bed with a girl that he wasn't even his, surrounded by vibrant, earthy colors of yellow, orange, brown and more. He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up and taking a long drag.

"You shouldn't do that, it'll kill you," the same sultry voice spoke into his ear, tongue darting out to lick the lobe.

"What I do or don't do isn't your concern, you know?" he spoke, blowing smoke rings. "What time is it?" he asked, looking at the ceiling of the room where the hazy smoke rings floated upwards.

"Its 10:29," his bedmate answered.

"It think its time I leave," he said, rising from the bed and collecting his clothing, putting one on at a time. Once fully dressed, he turned towards the female still lying on the bed unclothed. Long legs, smooth brown skin, blond hair, blue eyes, full lips and a heart shaped face; all in all, attractive.

"Here," she said, standing up and handing him a roll of cash. "I gave you something extra since you deserve it," a slight purr at the end of the sentence.

"Sure," he answered and turned to leave. The door had a full length mirror on its back and he caught sight of his reflection. Wearing black jeans, a white red trimmed t-shirt with a blood red jagged x across the chest, forest green hair, seven piercings; his hair was layered, short from the front and ending at his neck. His height was 5'11, lanky, but with muscles on his frame. He finished tucking his pants behind his boot tongues and he walked out of the room without another word.

Outside, it was a windy night, the full moon present in the sky lighting up the streets with its glow. He pulled out another cigarette, taking a deep drag once it was lit. He decided that walking through the nice empty park would be a good idea, so he headed in through the little parkway door that was visible in the moonlight.

'Hmm… Ipod… duh' he thought to himself, remembering his Ipod, which he left behind in the house he'd just left. With a shrug of his shoulders he continued walking down the empty park path, cigarette in hand. He neared the little playground close to the middle of the park when he heard a sound.

He stopped to listen as the wind brought the sound to him, until he realized it was an acoustic guitar that was being played. He followed the sound into the playground, towards some kind of pink squirrel like statue that kids used to climb on. With stealth and ease born of his constant practice of martial arts, he reached the statue unnoticed. Sliding under towards the crevice inside the statue, he crouched watching as a girl played the acoustic with skill.

Indigo hair, amethyst eyes, and the unmasked beauty of her self-expression; he recognized the girl that sat there. She was a girl that saw right through everything and anything with her powerful gaze. He slowly exited the statue without alerting the girl, he climbed on top of the statue carefully, until he was sitting there smoking his cig and listening to the music.

He didn't really keep track of how long he sat there, smoking cigs until loud raucous laughter interrupted the music and the silence. He looked towards the source of the laughter and spotted several people walking inside the little playground, making more than enough noise to wake the dead.

One of the figures spotted him, nudged another person next to him and pointed.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Jeon Styler X (JAY-ON STY-LER X)," the figure spoke. "I have a bone to pick with you."

"And what would that be, Storm?" X asked lazily, still smoking his cigarette on top of the statue.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my little sister, I told you she wasn't going to become one of your numbers," Storm said as he stepped into the light. Tall, with the height of 6ft 2in, with an almost white shade of blonde hair and azure blue eyes; he was an accomplished fighter and known to all for his quick temper. Even if his looks earned him girls everywhere.

"It wasn't my fault, she was the one that came after me," X commented as he took another drag of his cig.

"You should've gotten away from her," Storm retorted, watching X where he sat.

"She was a cherry anyway, so I made it worth her while and free of charge too," X said almost casually.

A guy next to Storm bristled at that remark before he could stop himself.

"OH, so that's what it is," X spoke again, nodding his head sagely. "Your little friend wanted her cherry and now you're here for me. Ha. Now that's amusing."

Storm looked at the person next to him with a heated glare in his eyes before turning back to X. "I'll deal with him after I deal with you."

X took one final drag of the cigarette before flicking it at Storm and jumping off the top of the statue with a kick. Storm took the brunt of the kick by crossing his arms in front of his chest before swinging out with his own pair of kicks.

X hopped back, avoiding the kicks as he launched his own form of counter attack, swinging his fists in a feint attack only to sweep kick him. Storm hit the ground hard, but quickly kicked himself back up to his feet.

"So the rumors of your fighting prowess weren't exaggerated," Storm said with a smirk on his face before rushing at X with a vicious hook to the stomach followed by an uppercut that dropped X onto his back. "You'll have to be better than that."

X stood up, trying to clear his head as he watched Storm for any signs of movement. "I am better than that," X yelled out, rushing at Storm with a kick to the stomach followed by a side kick to the head that was blocked and he was pushed away by four punches to the ribs.

Taking in a deep breath, X forced calm onto himself. He slowly started tapping his right foot on the ground, head nodding in time to the beat he cast with his foot. He looked up and with one hand he motioned for Storm to attack "Come on! Come on!"

Storm took the invitation and rushed at X. X quickly pivoted on his left foot, bringing his right leg crashing down in an axe kick that brought Storm down to one knee. Before X could capitalize on the move, Storm quickly punched him in the stomach and proceeded to knock his legs out from under him.

X tried to rise but was effectively pinned to the ground by Storm's right foot. "So, you're gonna hit someone when they're down?" X asked coolly, setting himself up for a counter.

"No, I won't." Storm gritted out. "This just means that I've won."

"I'm still conscious, so that means we're still on." Before Storm realized what was happening, he floating in the air and X was on his feet instantly. In a matter of seconds, their positions were reversed with X pressing Storm down onto the ground with his boot to the neck.

"Hmm… now what? Should we still con-" X's world exploded into searing white pain as he collapsed forward onto the ground. Before he could even register where the hit came from, a second blow landed on his skull dropping his chances of getting up as he lay on the ground holding his skull in agony.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" Storm shouted, getting up and going after Jeon's attacker. "You had no right to step in. This was between me and him."

"He brought your sister into this and he called her a cherry," the ebony haired teen responded to Storm's yells.

Storm lashed out with a fist that connected with the ebony haired teen's face. "Don't think I didn't know what you were planning."

Storm turned away, just in time to see X try to rise but fall back down. "Come on, get up. That shouldn't have put you down." Storm taunted.

_Click._

The sound of a gun readying to fire froze everyone in their spots. Storm turned to see an indigo haired girl holding a matte black berretta in her hands, the sights centered on his forehead.

"Back off now and we all have a happy ending," she spoke, her voice flat yet the danger ever present in the way she held the gun.

"This doesn't have to go that far," Storm said as he put his hands up.

"It does when you try to jump someone," was the reply that Storm received.

"It was only between me and him," Storm said, motioning towards the ebony haired figure that lay on the ground, blood pouring from his nose. "And you can see I've dealt with the interruption," he added.

"Just walk away…" the girl holding the berretta said, her finger holding the trigger and ready to fire.

Storm gave one last look before he turned around and walked away. His back up followed him, including the guy that was bleeding.

Giving a small shake of her head, she slid the gun into a holster at her side before approaching X. He was slowly coming to, his eyes slightly unfocused because of the blows to the head he'd received.

"Are you alright?" X heard someone ask as he slowly looked around. His eyes slowly focused and he noticed who it was that was standing above him. He noticed where exactly she stood and the short skirt that she wore.

"Hmm…. Black lace?"

She looked down, catching the words that escaped his mouth and she realized what it was for. With practiced ease, she slid out the berretta and placed the barrel of it on his head. "What are you looking at?" she asked icily.

X looked at her in the eyes, a smirk on his fate. "Wasn't my fault," he said simply, giving a shrug.

After a few moments, the gun was back inside its holster.

X got to his feet slowly, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks for the help. My name is-"

"Jeon Styler X or more widely known as X," she stated simply, going back to the little area beneath the statue to retrieve her guitar.

"Wow, you know my name, I'm flattered," X said playfully.

"It's difficult not to know your name when it's whispered everywhere at school," she responded. She went back to playing her guitar, slowly changing the tune that she'd been playing before the interruption.

"I owe you and I'm wondering what I can do to thank you," X said after a few moments.

"You owe me nothing," she responded.

"I haven't caught your name, have I?" X asked as they sat there against the statue.

"Raven Roth," was the answer he received.

"Raven Roth? Hmm… strange name," X said with a small chuckle.

"You'd be the one talking, Jeon Styler X," was the retort he received.

"Touché" X replied. "So what can I do for you? What's your desire?"

"Nothing that you can give me," Raven answered, watching as X lit a cig and took a long drag. Before X could react, his cigarette was out of his hands and in Raven's lips.

"Ay, that wasn't nice…" X said, watching as Raven took 2 drags from the cig and returned it to him. X took back his cig, taking a drag before handing it back to Raven and pulling out his own.

"What can I do for you?" X asked, smoke slowly billowing out of his mouth as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" Raven responded, her fingers running lightly across the guitar strings as she played Stairway to Heaven.

"I mean to repay you for your help, so what do you need? Do you need money? Or is it something else, a drug perhaps or maybe companionship, friendship, love, a one night stand? What is it?" X said with his eyes closed, the smell of Raven's perfume and the smell of cigarettes both relaxing him.

Raven turned around to gaze at the person that sat next to her. 'Hmm… I'd heard it was a lot harder to get him for a night, so why's he offering himself? ' "So, you've just offered me money, drugs, friendship, love, or use of your body, is that it? Because I think you can think of something more than that," Raven stated as she flicked away the stub of her cig.

"It's what you want, not what I think of."

There was silence between them for a good long time. "I'll give you friendship, how about that?" X asked softly, breaking the silence.

Raven looked at him for a few seconds before looking away.

Both sat there for a long time, watching the sky, smoking cigarettes and listening to Raven's music. The darkness of the night slowly started fading away as the sun slowly rose to greet the world with a smile.

X flicked away his cigarette butt before reaching for another. "Hm… I'm out," he stated simply before tossing away the empty box and standing up. He pulled out SLVR cellphone, checking the time before sliding it back into his pocket. "Hm… I think it's about time I head off towards school, how about you?"

Raven gave a nod before standing up, sliding her guitar onto her back by the strap and walking off the direction of her home.

"Adios," X called to her before turning away and heading to his house.

**_A/N: Yep, don't really know how long it'll take me to update considering that I'm now going to college, learning Jeet Kun Do, skating, and officially I've started playing Dance Dance Revolution. Yeah… well… see ya when I see ya… yeah… R and R._**


	2. Chapter 2 Street Walk Hustle

**_Yeah! And so I return! Yeah, comin' back with another episode of Hard Luck. Thanks to all that've reviewed and Yeah…. Let's party. _**

"**_We should not shed tears. That is a surrender of the body to the heart, it is only proof. That we are beings that do not know. What to do with our hearts._****_" – Bleach Volume 7_**

_**2. Street Walk Hustle**_

"And to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Mr. Styler?" The sickly sweet voice of X's English teacher called out to him.

"Your lovely visage," X answered smoothly, heading towards his seat.

Catching sight of a familiar face, he raised a hand in greetings, receiving a bright smile in return from the said person.

"So, what's going on, sunshine?" X asked coolly, sliding into his seat along side of his friend.

"Nothing much, X," replied the redhead sitting next to him. With a mane of bright red hair, big, bright emerald green eyes and a bright smile, Kori Anders was one of the most popular girls because of her friendly nature and because of her model looks.

"Were you out doing one of your jobs last night?" Kori asked, sliding X a PDA with several emails on display.

"Yeah, but I kinda ran into Storm, Jinx's older brother." X replied, wincing as he gingerly touched his head. He grabbed the PDA, browsing through several of the job requests he had lined up for the day.

"Seriously? You ran into him where?" Kori asked, surprise etching her voice while she started taking notes on the subject of the day.

"At the park. Fought him, got caught slipping by another punk who kicked me in the head and well after that it was kinda weird," X replied off handedly, writing responses to the requests he had received.

"What do you mean weird?" Kori asked, clearly interested in something that X considered weird.

Before X could respond, their teacher called out "Jeon, Kory, please refrain from talking during this assignment."

"Yeah/ Yes" both Kori and X responded before returning to their conversation.

"So what happened?" Kori asked.

"You know that quiet chick that we got for AP Calculus?" X said, the pencil in his hand moving as he quickly made a sketch.

"Oh, Raven, right?" Kori answered.

"Yeah, he- Wait a minute, you know her name?" X was surprised, he even stopped his sketch.

"Oh yes, she's actually very nice," Kori said before motioning for X to continue his story.

"Yeah, well anyway, she comes out with a Berretta in her hands and gets them off of me," X continued, adding the finishing touches to the sketch of an elven ranger carrying a bow with a full quiver of arrows on his back and two swords buckled at his sides.

The teacher came around collecting the assignments of the class. "Well, your drawing seems to be the best in the class," she noted before moving on to the next pair of students.

_**During Lunch…**_

X walked out of the school building, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. It was a bright, sunny day with nice cloudy blue skies and breezy as well. All in all, a nice day.

X had been bored most of the day already and it seemed like lunch would be no improvement. That is until he spotted a familiar indigo haired girl sitting down on the stone steps to the library.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, looking over Raven's shoulder, his sharp eyes gaze revealing the Kanji written on the page.

"Move your head or I'll break your jaw," she stated, her voice cold.

X gave raucous laugh before sitting next to her on the stone steps. "Wow, so violent," X said airily "Young people these days," he finished, shaking his head in a mock serious manner.

"Not everyone is as energetic as you are after no sleep," Raven said calmly before shutting her book.

X pulled out a pack of cigs, placing one in his mouth before offering Raven one. Wordlessly she took one and waited until X pulled out a black zippo lighter engraved with a jagged red x, lighting his cig and hers.

"You know we're going to get in trouble for this, right?" Raven said, taking a drag of her cig as she watched X make a smiley face with the smoke.

X gave a nod before Only in Dreams by Weezer interrupted him. He pulled out his cell, answering with a crisp "Yo!"

After a few minutes, he said "No, she said that her brother wouldn't be involved and look at what happened yesterday."

"It's not about the money, it's just too troublesome," X answered after a few seconds.

"She what? Alright, whatever, sure. Bye." X slid his cell back into his pocket, taking a long drag from his cig before flicking it away.

"Seems like you have a job to do," Raven said, giving him a strange look.

"Yeah," X answered before turning and walking away. He raised a hand in the air, calling back "Adios," before he disappeared from view.

Raven sat there for a few minutes before her own cell rang and she pulled out a black RAZR cell, answering "Hello?"

Several minutes passed as Raven listened to the other voice on the phone. "Okay. I'm on the job," she said before hanging up the phone, sliding it in her pocket and leaving her quiet place.

_**Several Hours Later…**_

"I don't think my brother will bother you again," Jinx said as she lay on her bed, breathing heavy. X slowly got up, his unclothed form visible to Jinx, who only gave him a purr.

"Can I use your shower?" X asked, unfazed by Jinx's mannerisms.

Jinx gave him a nod and he walked inside, immediately firing up the shower with ice cold water. After he spent more than 15 minutes inside, he heard the door open. Jinx stepped inside the shower with him, hugging her body close to him as she asked "How about we try it here?"

X gave her a look before shrugging his shoulders.

_**Sometime Later…**_

X walked out of Jinx's house and away from it with his hair still wet. He checked his watch noting that the time was 6:15 'I'm late!' he thought as he audibly cursed, pulled out a cigarette and lit it with his zippo. He took a deep drag after pocketing his zippo, he then started running.

Down the street, dodging through traffic at the more crowded areas of Jump, he went. He ran down an alley, jumping upwards and pulling himself onto a fire escape which he climbed two more floors before launching himself to an adjacent roof top.

He landed with a roll, not slowing down as he kept running. He spotted another smaller fence to which he jumped at, kicking away from it at the last minute and towards another fire escape in a different alley. Once he jumped down, took a deep drag from his partially finished cigarette and exhaling the smoke as he walked out of the alley normally.

He checked his watch again. "I'm not that late, it's still cool."

X walked towards a fast food place, planning on making a pit stop before heading to his destination. He felt the wind pick up, the sound hollow as it blew through the strangely empty street.

Paranoia is something that comes to X when something is wrong, and his instinct was never wrong. He looked around the street, taking in the sight of several cars that were parked at the end, which set off his alarms. It wasn't that bad an area of Jump, yet these were classy and brand new looking machines just sitting there with their engines running.

He reached the end of the street, his right hand in his pocket holding a midnight blue handled butterfly knife when a familiar form seemed to glide into sight.

She slowly stalked across the street, her walk and mannerisms different from what he'd seen of her so far. She calmly pulled out her Berretta, firing two rounds into one of the parked cars.

As the front windshield shattered, everything suddenly seemed to get quieter. "Grayson, come on out!" Her voice cold and emotionless all through her yell.

A couple of faces appeared for a few seconds before disappearing again; seconds and minutes ticked by until a door opened.

X, who had stood motionless on the sidewalk, immediately moved to the other side of the street, moving closer as he watched the figure that emerged from the building.

Standing at a height of 5'6 with ebony black hair spiked up, Richard "Robin" Grayson walked onto the sidewalk, his sky blue eyes taking in the surrounding area including X and Raven both. "What are you doing in my turf, hellborn?"

"I'm here to finish what we started sometime back," Raven replied, aiming her gun at Robin.

Robin gave her a feral smile before pulling out a pair of 941 Jericho's, firing at Raven and in X's direction.

X swore as bullets flew over his head forcing him to roll out of the way and closer to the shooting. He looked around for some way of halting the gun fight when he spotted another person at a window on the second floor of the building that Robin had stepped out of and he was aiming a rifle down at Raven, who had taken cover behind a junked car.

X stood up, yelling "Raven, move to the left!" Raven responded, yet it was too late as the rifle crack echoed throughout the street. X ran forward, watching as Raven took the round in the shoulder.

"My, my, Raven, you're getting very sloppy," Robin said as he cleared the distance between Raven and himself. "It's over. You can beg for your life if you want, who knows, I might even spare you."

Raven spat on him, trying to pick herself up.

Robin gave her a wicked smirk, one of his already reloaded Jericho's pointing at her head. "See you, hellborn."

X jumped forward, hearing the crack of the rifle again as a round struck the ground behind him. He slammed into Robin, sending both of them tumbling forward in a tangle of limbs with X punching Robin furiously.

Robin lay on the ground dazed, both his guns close by. X reached out, grabbing one of the fallen guns and jamming it against Robin's head, his finger on the trigger. "Tell that punk to get rid of the rifle or I blow you away," X hissed, pushing the gun harder against Robin's head.

Robin slowly raised a hand, curling into a fist before putting it back down. The clatter of the rifle assured X that the other shooter was out of the party. "I offer you this. A life for a life. Yours for her, understand?"

Robin slowly nodded.

"You won't follow me and neither will your boys. I won't catch you around anywhere I'm around, you dig?"

Again, Robin slowly nodded.

X stood up, sliding the Jericho into the back of his pants, pulling down the black sweater he wore to cover it up. Robin stayed on the ground watching as X quickly went over to Raven.

He nudged her still body as he spoke "Hey, are you alright? Hey, answer me." Cursing, he placed two fingers on her neck, finding a pulse, weak but a pulse nonetheless. He gently picked her up, carrying her bridal style as he watched Robin talk to his people through a headset.

"Leave and take the hellborn with you," Robin stated as he sat up, rubbing his head.

X lashed out, his boot colliding with Robin's face and putting him out cold. He turned around and ran, pulling his cell out one handed as he yelled "Call Dante!" The phone rang repeatedly before the voice mail picked up. Cursing, he hung up and yelled into the speaker "Call Vergil!" Again the phone rang and again voice mail answered. He cursed loudly before putting away the cell.

"Come on, girl, hang on. Just hang on." He muttered as he dashed through a park.

Running across the crowded Neros Street, he shoved his way through a crowd of club goers, running across another street. Traffic was backed up in this area and X proceeded to jump across the hood of a car ignoring the owner's outraged yells as he dashed through another crowded intersection and into a small quiet street.

"Don't die on me, don't die." He muttered as he headed towards a two story blue colored house, not bothering to unlock the door as he kicked it down and ran inside.

_**2 Days Later… **_

"Ughnn…." Raven regained consciousness with a weak groan. Her sight blurred as she tried to look around.

"Ah… look who awakens at last," an unfamiliar voice fills the room, startling her. She immediately tried to rise, forgetting about her injuries and using her left arm.

"Arghh…" she groans again as she collapses back onto the sofa.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the same voice repeated, only this ones tone filled with maturity and lacking the initial playfulness.

Raven lay back on what she realized was a couch, breathing slightly heavy and feeling her entire left shoulder burn. She closed her eyes, focusing on emptiness and slowly forgetting about the pain that flowed through her body. She reopened her eyes, noting that they were clearing up slowly as she visually inspected the room.

It was a strange type of living room, weapons mounted on the walls and on racks in several places in the room. She saw that the wall in front of her had a mirror showing her an ample view across the room behind her and revealing another couch exactly like the one she lay on, with a billiards table in between the two couches.

She turned her head when she heard the door open, her eyes catching sight of her gun on the arm rest of the couch. She immediately snatched it up, bring it up to aim at the person who entered the room.

"Slow down, babe!"

_**A/N: Yeah… Hope it's to everyone's enjoyment... as for what X does in one scene... its called Parkour, something that is practiced in france i think... as well as many places around the world...  
**_


	3. Chapter 3 Showtime!

**_Back again…. Because I've had no time since I got into college… so, hope you enjoy and thanks to all that've reviewed and even those that haven't… thanks…. Oh... and I don't own the titans... I don't own Devil May Cry or its characters which i'm using for this fic... i think i only own the nameless thugs... and Jeon... i think thats about it... Lol... so, Read on... _**

**_  
_**

"**_People have hope. Because they cannot see death standing behind them."- Bleach Volume 2_**

_**3. Showtime!**_

_**Last time on Hard Luck:**_

_She turned her head when she heard the door open, her eyes catching sight of her gun on the arm rest of the couch. She immediately snatched it up, aiming at the person who entered the room._

"_Slow down, babe!" _

_**AGX**_

Raven stared at the man in front of her. Tall with a height of 6'1, he had platinum white hair cut short, ice blue eyes and a super model face and body. He currently stood in front of her, hands in the air as she aimed her gun at him.

"Who the hell are you? Where am I?" Raven asked coldly, the sound of the gun cocking punctuating her questions.

Before the stranger in front of her could answer, another person stepped into the room. Raven stared at the new arrival, which stood there with his hair dripping as he stared at the gun in her hands. He was almost an exact duplicate of the first one, except that his eye color was a little darker than the first one's.

"Hm… I take it she's awake already?" his tone serious compared to his brother's playful one.

"X, get your ass in here," the first one yelled, still staring at her in the eyes.

X walked into the room, holding a plate of food as he responded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm here!" he halted when he caught sight of Raven sitting up with a gun in her hands. "You feeling better?"

"Where am I?" Raven asked, still not lowering her weapon.

"You're in our humble abode," X answered making a grand gesture with his free hand.

"You mean our house, you just squat here for no reason," the first twin spoke, gesturing towards himself and his brother.

"Shut up, I practically own this house with all the repairs I've been forced to make to it," X retorted with a smirk on his face. He turned back to Raven, this time smiling as he placed the food next to her on the couch. "Here, you must be starving."

Raven eyed the plate suspiciously, turning to look at X after doing so.

"Come on! If I would've wanted to give you trouble, I'd have done it when you were fresh wounded. Just relax." X spoke, his voice strangely disarming.

Raven looked at him for a few more seconds before placing the gun down and grabbing the plate of food.

"If this little scene is over, then I'm off to see Setsuna." The second twin spoke, turning around and exiting the room with a small nod to everyone.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." X exclaimed, punching a fist into an open palm. "These two idiots are Dante and Vergil Sparda."

"You shouldn't be calling me an idiot, _Genius_," Dante snapped at him.

"Yep, that's Dante, the ever so witty one. The cool, reserved one is Vergil." X gave a smirk before asking "Is there anything else you might want?"

Raven shook her head, taking another bite of the fluffy omelet that sat on the plate.

Vergil entered the room again, a steaming mug in his hand. "Your tea was ready," he simply said, setting it down on the corner of the billiards table. Vergil headed out of the room, motioning to Dante that he should follow, leaving both X and Raven alone.

"If you want to take a shower and freshen up, the bathroom's down the hall to your right. Just be careful with the bandages." X informed her, pointing at her shoulder.

Raven looked down, noticing what she lacked. Her shirt was removed, white bandages showing as they wrapped around her upper chest area and her shoulder. She looked up, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Your shirt was fucked up beyond repair, so we got rid of it. I took the liberty of breaking into your house to get you some clothes." X's face seemed to go slack, apathy taking over as he continued "I got you several sets of clothing and I also brought you some of your undergarments because I was unsure of what you might want."

Both Vergil and Dante both looked up from what they were doing at the sound of a gunshot, which was followed by several more. Bounding up the stairs, they found X crouching in the hallway, his face bleeding where a bullet nicked him.

Dante moved closer to X, asking "Is there any reason why she just shot up the house?"

"Nothing important," X answered as he wiped the blood off his cheek.

"What do you mean nothing important?" Vergil asked, a dangerous edge in his voice.

"It was my fault before you think of anything. So just let me deal with it." X snapped out before slowly peeking into the room. He headed inside, "I crossed a line, I was wrong."

Both Sparda brothers heard a loud thud along with a yelp of pain and they both rushed into the room. They caught sight of X on the floor cradling his head in his arms as Raven lay back on the couch gently.

"What happened to you?" Dante casually asked, picking up the now empty berretta off the floor.

X mumbled something into the floor, his hands still holding his head.

Vergil looked at Raven and he was joined by Dante. They watched as the stoic girl blushed furiously before turning and looking away. They turned to X, who picked himself up off the ground. "She threw the gun at me."

Dante burst out laughing while X was shooting him a murderous glare. Dante's laughter was slowly joined by the usually stoic Vergil who chuckled openly.

"You shouldn't be laughing, Dante. Setsuna was going to castrate you last time," X snapped out.

Dante's laughter ended abruptly with a wince.

"If Vergil, Trish and me hadn't done anything, you'd never had kids." X gave him a smug look before turning back to Raven. "I apologize. It's just that both Setsuna and Trish weren't around and I only did what I did to try to ensure your comfort."

Raven gave him a wilting look before turning away again.

X shook his head with a sigh before exiting the room. Dante and Vergil both looked at Raven again before following X out of there, both chuckling at X's misfortune.

Raven lay on the couch dozing off, her stomach full and her shoulder burning. 'Idiot.'

She thought back to the moment she fired at X. His movement replaying in her mind as he avoided the bullets. 'He evaded every round. He's not a normal person. ' Slowly, ever so slowly her eyes began to get heavy until sleep over took her.

_**On the other side of Jump...**_

"So... the hellborn left you unconscious?" a cold voice reached out across the richly adorned oak paneled office.

"No, it wasn't her! She was down and some guy interfered," Robin almost yelled, his fists balling in anger.

"One boy humiliated you? I thought you were better than that," the same cold voice stated simply.

"No, Mr. Wi-" Robin started to say but he was cut off as the figure raised a hand. 'Bastard...' the thought crossed Robin as he seethed.

"Now, now, mind you temper. You are one of my best operatives... but know this, I won't stand for such manners in my presence..." the man leaned forward revealing a ruggedly handsome man with long blond hair. His red and black eyed gaze gave him a sinister feeling as he met his eyes.

"Yes, sir, I apologize for my unprofessional mannerisms," Robin stated coldly as he stood up straight and gazed at the floor.

"You're dismissed," the man said, waving robin out of the office casually.

'One day fool...' Robin thought as he left the office in silence.

Once outside, he revealed how furious he was. Not only did he miss an opportunity to one-up the hellborns but he got embarrassed by an interloper.

"So, what's the next move?" a voice interrupted Robin's thoughts as he stepped outside of the office. He looked up to catch sight of a tall, well muscled African America male whose name was Victor Stone. A person well known through out Jump for being the one to go to when custom tooling was needed on a vehicle, it didn't matter which type it was.

"We find the interloper and we make him pay. Then we deal with the Hellborn." Robin stated icily. He tossed the car keys to Stone, climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

"You said the kid gave you a warning about going after him and the girl," Stone started as he watched Robin's face contort with anger, "I mean… if the kid did what he did then and there, then I think he might be able to back that warning up."

Robin turned to face him, anger burning in his eyes "What? You think I can't take him? Is that it, Stone?"

Stone raised a hand in his defense "Nah man… I know you can. Where to now?"

"I need to find out who he is and where I can find him…" Robin said turning back and sitting down correctly in the car seat.

"So we're going to see _her_? Okay then." With that said, Stone put the key into the ignition and started the car as they took off towards their destination.

**_Jump City docks at midnight… _**

"So… what are we doing here?" Dante asked, annoyed because he was missing his sleep.

"We're here because someone's trying to take our turf." Vergil's cold voice answered from the shadows where he stood, wearing a blue trench coat with a pair of blue pants, black boots and a blue shirt.

Dante wore the opposite, a long red trench coat, black pants and a black shirt along with the black boots. "Well...where's X? Shouldn't he be on the roof top with the sniper?"

Vergil swore when he heard the muffled scream from nearby. "He's already at it, lets go…Since he just gave us away." He ran into the warehouse in front of him quickly followed by Dante.

**_Inside the warehouse 2 minutes earlier …_**

X crept behind a crate, watching as the targets sat around a table playing cards. "Hold on, I'm gonna take a piss, don't look at my cards." One stood up, laying down his cards on the table before walking off towards a shadowy corner behind some crates.

He quickly made his way towards him, hiding behind some crates waiting. He pulled his butterfly knife out of his pocket opening it with a quick twist as he watched the thug finish his business and walk back to the card game. As the thug reached the crates behind which X hid, X punched the knife up to the handle into the thugs throat, earning a muffled scream that broke the silence.

"What the hell was that? Ross, is that you?" The men at the table started looking around.

"It came from over there. Go check it out."

"The dumbass probably just caught himself on his zipper; you know he's an idiot."

"I don't care, just go check it out."

Footsteps echoed throughout the silence as one of the men stood up and began to look around. X pulled out the knife and slid further into the shadows as the thug headed in his direction.

"Dumbass, is that you? Don't tell me you slipped and fell?" The thug stepped closer to his buddy, catching sight of the blood seeping from his neck and he started yelling. "Shit! Ross is dead! Someone's in here and he killed Ross!"

The rest of the men at the table stood up quickly, reaching for weapons to defend themselves with.

Before any of them could step further into the place, a loud gunshot echoed throughout the place as the familiar form of Dante walked forward holding a silver gun in his hand, his red trench coat swishing as he took long steps. "Now, how about you all relax and put those weapons down?"

"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked as they all turned to face Dante, leveling weapons in his direction.

"Who? Me? I'm just someone that doesn't like trespassing." Dante answered before unholstering a second gun, this one ebony black with a slimmer barrel than the silver one in his other hand.

"You're trespassing in Dark Knights territory, what would be the reason?" Vergil's voice filled the silence left by Dante's appearance as he stepped out from behind them. "Depending on your answer, you might live…" he trailed off.

"Screw you! Ross is dead, and so are you!" One of the men screamed as he aimed his weapon at Vergil.

Something flitted quickly in the darkness, glinting off the bit of light inside. The thug screamed as a blade embedded itself in his gun hand.

"Seems like you want death, right?" X said as he embedded another knife into the thug's throat.

Everyone in the room stared at the corpse, watching as X walked up to it and removed his blades from it. "So… you gonna tell me why you're trespassing? Or are you going to stand there and die?"

"Fuck you!" one of the remaining four thugs yelled as he turned towards X and leveled his gun. Before he could pull the trigger, he was dropped by a barrage of bullets from Dante's pistols as Vergil unholstered his own twin revolvers, opening fire as well.

X walked off towards the warehouse entrance, wiping down the blades he used for his kills.

He was out of the warehouse and close to the car when he realized that someone was following him. He turned to catch sight of heavily muscled orange haired man taller than him walking next to a slim, petite blond girl, who just so happened to be holding a silver Smith and Wesson 4500 in her right hand.

Before he could move, she aimed her gun and fired.

_**Inside Warehouse….**_

Both Sparda brothers heard the gunshot and immediately realized that X wasn't with them.

**_A/N: Well, here's another installment of Hard Luck… hope its doesn't suck…  Read, Review… and Adios for now… _**


	4. Chapter 4 Breaks

_**Just bringing out another chapter of Hard Luck… Thanks to all that've reviewed… and I'm going over this again… cause I don't own anything Teen Titans, none of the Devil May Cry characters that are here as well as one of the characters to a manga called Negima… **_

"**_To reach the top, We must crush their dreams and climb atop their shattered hopes!" – Air Gear, chapter 91_**

_**4. Breaks… **_

_**Last time on Hard Luck:**_

_X turned to catch sight of heavily muscled orange haired man taller than him walking next to a slim, petite blond girl, who just so happened to be holding a silver Smith and Wesson 4500 in her right hand. _

_Before he could move, she leveled her gun and fired._

_**AGX**_

Both Dante and Vergil ran outside, eyes roving around as they searched for enemies. Satisfied that they weren't in any immediate danger, they headed towards their car in search of X. They found a shell casing and a blood stain on the ground along with one of X's knives several meters away from the car.

"He got shot…" Vergil stated as he picked up the knife and put it away.

"Great. Just great," Dante muttered as he looked around for any trace of his whereabouts.

Both Dante and Vergil heard the rumble of an engine and they turned in time to see a sleek looking black Mercedes SLR drive away. "Damn windows are tinted," Dante spat behind holstering his guns and walking off towards their own car.

They reached the car in record time, when Vergil raised an arm to bar Dante's way. "Wait…" he said as he pointed out the blood pooling near the car along with the bloody hand prints on the paint job.

"He better not be the one that did this." Dante pulled out Ivory, finger on the trigger while Vergil withdrew both Umbra and Luce, his twin revolvers. Dante put a hand to the car handle and raised his hand, counting down to 1 from 3 before he yanked it open.

"Hey! Hey! It's me, don't shoot!" X yelled as he raised his bloody hands in front of himself.

Vergil immediately holstered both his revolvers and quickly climbed in alongside of X. Dante was already jumping into the driver's seat, "We're going to go see the doc, just hang on." His cocky attitude replaced by a seriousness that could rival Vergil as he drove quickly.

"How'd this happen?" Vergil asked, as he examined the gunshot wound to X's side.

"Some blonde chick and a big orange haired guy just popped out of nowhere," X managed to speak, clenching his teeth, trying to fight off the wave of darkness that tried to swallow him. "The blonde just shot me."

"I swear if you fuck my car up, you're gonna pay." Dante said, trying to lighten the mood a bit but it was useless. Vergil silenced him with a glare before turning back to X.

"She didn't say anything? Who she worked for? Nothing?" Vergil pressed on, trying to figure out who the shooter was from a long list of enemies they had accumulated already.

"Nothing… and the worst part is, I've never seen her before…" X hissed in pain as Dante took a corner too fast before he continued. "So she's either… a new gun… or someone's trying to take us out of this scene…" before he passed out.

**_Later on in at an undisclosed location…_**

"He was supposed to be one of the Dark Knights?" a sickeningly sweet female voice asked.

"Yes," a gruff male voice answered her.

"He wasn't much, he's not worthy of using the name," the female spoke again before she stepped forward revealing herself to be the same blond haired girl that wounded X.

"He managed to wound Mammoth severely," the gruff voice pointed out "and you did catch him off guard. Now imagine how he'd react if he'd been expecting that encounter."

The blond girl stayed silent, the point made by the other made a lot of sense.

"Now, we're bound to meet them again. The Knights take care of their own."

"Let them come and be washed away in a tide of sin…" the female answered before stepping out of the room.

_**Somewhere else…**_

"Great, just great. Now we've got two people to take care of," Dante grumbled he drove back home, glancing through the rearview mirror every once in a while. X was sprawled out in the back, his half closed before he said "Keep grumbling and I'll make sure you join us…" before he dozed off again.

X's familiar ring tone echoed throughout the car and he gave a groan before shifting slightly to get it.

"You carry your phone on a mission?" Vergil asked arching an eyebrow before grabbing X's jacket and answering the phone. "Hello," he waited for several seconds before continuing "yes, this is his phone, hold on a moment."

He handed the phone to X giving him a look as he answered it.

"Yo…" he answered weakly. "I'm not up for any jobs… not any time soon, anyway." He winced once he heard the yelling on the phone before hanging up. "Well, someone's mad…" he stated before dropping the phone and closing his eyes.

"Don't go to sleep yet, we're home." Vergil opened the door, helping X get to his feet and helping him inside the house.

"So what do we tell his guest?" Dante asked once they delivered the wounded X to his room.

"Nothing, she is to be told nothing." Vergil answered, stalking off towards the kitchen where he found the petite, raven haired Japanese beauty named Setsuna. She currently sat at the table drinking tea and having a staring contest with Raven.

"Yo, Setsuna, what's up?" Dante asked, falling back to his bravado and cockiness.

Setsuna turned and gave him a nod before standing and bowing to Vergil, who merely bowed in return before turning to Raven. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, his eyes visually inspecting her shoulder and the way she moved it slowly.

"It's healing perfectly." Raven answered shortly before returning to her tea while Setsuna walked off towards X's room while Dante sauntered off towards his room.

"X never told me where you received that injury or why you were carrying your own firearm, care to enlighten me?" Vergil asked coolly taking a seat across from her.

"I carry a weapon for protection," She replied, taking a sip of her tip.

"Yes, but that seemed to fail you." Vergil arched an eyebrow as her face contorted into one of irritation.

"What about X?" she challenged him.

"What about him? He carries knives since he doesn't need a gun," Vergil stood up and went into the fridge, taking out one of Dante's coronas. He opened it after taking his seat again as he waited for Raven.

"Where exactly is he at the moment?" Raven asked, "He brought me here and now he's gone?"

"Nope, was just resting…" X grunted from where he leaned against kitchen's doorframe.

"You will be the death of me, Styler," Setsuna appeared behind him, her voice soft yet firm as she tried to herd X back to his room.

"Come on, Se-kun," X whined and Vergil shook his head at the sight while Raven again was forced to try and evaluate X.

'Who exactly is he?' Raven thought, mentally ticking off items on her list. 'He's in excellent physical shape, he's trained and he carries weapons.' Her thoughts were interrupted when X gave a groan of pain and she quickly looked up.

His side was red with blood. She realized that it was a gunshot wound and she turned towards Vergil, who called Dante and they both carried X back to his room. Raven followed them up, silent as they put him back in bed when Vergil turned to Setsuna "Someone tried to kill him. I don't know who yet, but I'll find out. In the meantime, make sure he stays in bed and take care of him."

Setsuna nodded before going to her room and returning with several weapons.

Vergil turned to leave and Raven was in front of him, a questioning look in her eyes. "What happened to him?" she asked, "I thought he could take care of himself."

Vergil didn't answer; he just stared at her as he waited for her to get out of the way.

Dante appeared behind her, seeing the look in Vergil's eyes, he quickly pulled Raven out of the way. As Vergil stalked off, Dante warned Raven "Don't mess with him, he's not in a good mood and when he's not, there's trouble ahead."

The next morning, Dante woke up to the smells of breakfast. It took him a few minutes to stumble down the stairs to where X sat at the kitchen table, waiting for a tall blond haired woman to finish with breakfast. She was none other than Trish, a woman whose beauty belied her temper.

Setsuna appeared at the kitchen entrance eyes dulled by drowsiness as she took her seat at the table. After a quick meal that consisted of scrambled eggs and sausages, X looked around realizing that Vergil wasn't at the table.

"Hey, where's Vergil?" he asked.

"He took your little bird home," Trish answered with a smile as she watched X's reaction. The door opening caught everyone's attention and they all turned to look.

"So, now that everyone's here, I have some news." Vergil walked into the room, his face grim as he tossed something on the table. X reached out and grabbed it, looking at the small crest in the shape of a strange stylized S it had engraved on it.

"Is this what I think it is?" X asked, his voice remaining neutral.

"The mark of Scathe." Setsuna spoke quietly, her eyes revealing only cold fury.

"Where did you find this?" Dante asked, grabbing the crest out of X's hand and examining it closely. "And what would the Hellborns have to do with us?" He tossed the crest back on the table.

"This was on one of the corpses we left in that warehouse," Vergil answered as Trish gave a shrug.

"I don't know… they've upheld their half of the deal so far, so why would they suddenly make a move as bold as that?" Trish asked "That's not their style."

"We'll find out whether or not they had a hand in this," Setsuna stated calmly "If they are, we'll crush them."

_**Downtown Jump, 4 hours later…**_

"Where have you been?" was all that was asked.

"I was wounded during my fight with Slade's lieutenant and I've been resting," Raven answered, her voice removed of all emotions.

"You weren't at your quarters for several days now," another voice stated. The owner of said voice stepped forward revealing to be a tall beautiful woman, her long indigo hair framing a face that looked similar to Raven's. "So, tell me, where you with a boy?" she asked, a wicked smile on her lips as she leaned forward.

"Arella, now is not the time for this," the only male in the room stated before returning his gaze to Raven. "Since you failed this task, then I'll be leaving it to the hands of more capable person." He gave her a cold look before waving her out of his office.

"Don't be so hard on her, she's a teenage girl. She can't exactly match up to your expectations so quick," Arella's voice held a reprimanding tone as she stepped out of the office as well.

**_A/N: So ends another piece of Hard Luck…. It was probly full of suck, and I apologize… Hope ya read and review… Adios for now…_**

**_ kun- The suffix is used at the end of boys names to express familiarity or endearment. X uses it with Setsuna because he views her as someone close to him... and he likes to mess with her.  
_**


	5. Chapter 5 Crossroads

**_With another chapter of Hard Luck for your reading pleasure…. Well, as usual… I don't own anyone affiliated with DC, Del Rey Manga, Capcom… I only own my own characters… which are like 2 or 3 so far… I drew inspiration for this chapter from Hiji Suru STYLE, a song from the Samurai Champloo OST. Now on with the fic… _**

"**_A girl or a fight, pouting lips or a flashing blade? Whichever dance you're dancing at the moment is always the most fun. Wouldn't you say so?"_****– The Wheel of Time Book 7 – A Crown of Swords.**

_**5. Crossroads…**_

_**Last time on Hard Luck… **_

"_Arella, now is not the time for this," the only male in the room stated before returning his gaze to Raven. "Since you failed this task, then I'll be leaving it to the hands of more capable person." He gave her a cold look before waving her out of his office. _

"_Don't be so hard on her, she's a teenage girl. She can't exactly match up to your expectations so quick," Arella's voice held a reprimanding tone as she stepped out of the office as well. _

_**AGX**_

X walked inside class slowly, his wound not close to healing yet unwilling to miss anymore days of school. 3 days had passed since he got shot and Vergil was still angry.

He gave the teacher a grin as he handed her an absence slip and walked to the back, to sit next to Kori like always.

This time, there was another red head there and it wasn't Kori. "Out of my seat, Wally," X said as he glared at the slim athlete.

"Aww… I was just getting used to sitting here next to Kori," Wally made a sad face which seemed to make X irritated.

"Now that Jeon's back, return to your assigned seat Wally," the teacher ordered before X could reply, effectively eliminating any chance of trouble in her class.

"Hey, Kori." X grunted as he took his seat. "How've you been?"

"I think I should ask you that," Kori said frostily, something that surprised X.

"I'm not sure what you're what you're talking about, so you might want to clarify that."

"I've been hearing all sorts of things through my contacts lately, and many of them have something to do with you," Kori stated as she pulled up several files on her pda and slid it in front of X. "Take a look."

He quickly read through the several reports, not really surprised that Kori's vast information network had details on the recent incidents. "Your info isn't wrong, that's all I can say."

"Wait, there's something else as well," She took back the pda and quickly brought up a video window showing him a familiar scene.

"Why did you have to get involved in this? You know she's part of the Hellborns." Kori asked, her emerald green eyes showing an uncertainty that left X confused.

X stayed silent, his day now darkened by Kori's strange behavior. After class, they both walked outside, their destination was the next building that housed their next class. "Slade's Mercenaries will be looking for you."

X gave a grunt as an acknowledgement. Several hours later and when class was over, Kori walked quickly through the hallway, heading towards the front of the school. "Hey, sis, hold on!" a blond haired, green eyed boy loped after her.

"Oh, hey Garfield," Kori greeted him as he caught up and matched her quick pace.

"So, where are you going?" he asked mischievously, a toothy grin showing. "A _secret _meeting with X?" he insinuated, bringing Kori a brilliant blush as she denied it.

"No! I have other things to do."

"You know for a little brother, kid, you sure are a pain." X's amused voice reached their ears as he walked up. "Such a ravishing woman…." He leaned close to her, his voice turned into a soft sultry purr in Kori's ear bringing her blush back with a vengeance.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop that! Don't try your seductions on my sister!" Garfield rushed at X, who moved back chuckling as he held a flailing Gar away from him.

"Take it easy, kid. I'm wounded," X said as Gar pulled back.

"W-well, I have to go," Kori's blush wore away and she immediately took off. "See you, X. I'll be home later on, Gar." She called back over her shoulder as she left.

"Wonder what her rush is…" X trailed off as he was forcefully grabbed by his arm and pulled towards another exit of the school.

"And it is time to go home," Setsuna made herself known as she pulled him away towards her car.

X gave a sigh before he put his arm around her shoulder and let her lead him out of the place.

_**Later on…. **_

Robin and Stone drove through the industrial section of the city close to the docks, the silence in the car almost deafening. Stone was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel until Robin's glare made him stop and he finally asked "What? What is it?"

"I was talking to one of the best informants in this city and she had nothing. Nothing at all to say about that guy." Robin snapped out, punching the dashboard.

"Don't take it out on my car, Robin," Stone said evenly as he slowed at the traffic signal.

Robin stayed silent, as Stone continued driving. Robin was looking around when a bullet impacted on the rolled up window. "SHIT!" he ducked as Stone sped up, more bullets impacting on the car.

"They have the whole block covered," Stone said, swerving through the streets as to avoid more bullets. The sound of screeching tires reached their ears, informing them that they now had a pair of Hummers following them as more bullets started pinging off the car.

The camo green hummer slammed into the back of Stone's car, as the black hummer slammed into the side. "They're trying to run us off the road…" Robin said through gritted teeth as he pulled out his guns. He opened the window just in time to see a window roll down in the black hummer and an assault rifle be aimed out.

Robin opened fire on the shooter, managing to kill him before more than a burst could be fired. "Damn…" Stone groaned and Robin turned to catch sight of the bullet wound to his shoulder. "Don't stop! Cause if you stop, we die!" Robin said as he rolled the window back up and Stone's 07 Mustang leapt forward in a burst of speed.

As the mustang swerved around a warehouse, they were now in the unused cargo dock area of the piers. They sped alongside of the water's edge, with both Hummers behind them peppering their car with gunfire. A lone figure stepped out of the shadows carrying a long bulky tube.

"Fuck!" Robin and Stone both cursed as the figure hefted the rocket launcher and let a rocket streak towards them. Stone swerved to the side, the car understeering as they barely avoided the rocket which collided with the pursuing vehicles.

The explosion that ensued forced the mustang to careen wildly as another rocket streaked towards them. Stone was struggling to get the car under control when the rocket was let loose; he managed to force the car to plunge into the bay waters as the rocket collided.

"Targets have been eliminated as per your request," the figure that fired the rocket launcher revealed itself to be the same blonde girl that wounded X. She stood next to the smoking launcher as she called her boss.

"Okay then. Just plant the evidence and leave no trace of your involvement."

"Affirmative," she answered before hanging up the phone and making a few final arrangements. She left the area as the sounds of police sirens got nearer.

**_Jump City mall, a day later… _**

"Whoa, check this out!" Gar called out as he watched the TV screen on the electronics store.

"Authorities say that this was a job from one of the 3 main syndicates in Jump City. Police are linking this shootout along with another that occurred a week ago in the dock area of Jump. We'll have more as the story develops…" the news broadcast cut off.

"Man, that's crazy. The syndicates are duking it out in the day in plain sight…." Gar sighed, as they headed towards the food court.

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's nothing to do with you, right?" X answered, waving it off as Kori just shrugged her shoulders.

"So, who were we supposed to meet today?" X turned and asked Kori, who gave him a bright smile as she led them towards a table already occupied.

"Why bring the pest?" X muttered as he caught sight of the red haired Wally West sitting at the table along with Roy Harper.

"That's exactly what I'm asking," Wally said with a sneer as he glared at X. "This invitation was for Kori and Gar only."

"I'm gone," X said as he started to walk off only to be stopped by Kori, who grabbed his arm as she gave him her trademark wide eyed sad face. "Please, Jeon, don't go."

"Yeah man, don't listen to Wally. He's just frustrated that he ain't got a chance with Kori," Roy called out as Wally turned to glare at him. "What'd you say, Harper?"

"Saying nothing but the truth, man," Roy said with a shrug of his shoulders as Kori, Gar and X sat down.

"So what's going down?" Gar asked as he snaked his hand into Wally's plate of fries and snagged a few.

"Someone's trying to recruit us…" Roy said, looking around quickly before leaning forward. "Some blond chick is trying talk me and Wally into a syndicate."

Gar nearly choked on the fries he was munching when Roy said that. "DUDE!"

X immediately covered Gar's mouth, looking around before he said "Keep your voice down, you can't be sure who's listening." Gar nodded slowly and once X let him go, he shook his head a bit.

Kori wasn't surprised. Several of her other contacts had started receiving recruitment offers since a week before. What had her stumped was that she couldn't figure out who exactly was making those of offers and where they came from.

"So what does X have to do in all this?" Wally asked as he arched an eyebrow at Kori. "I'm only here to escort Kori…" X answered with a shrug at which Gar gave an outrage cry of "Hey! That's my job!"

X gave a smirk as he stood up and went to get something to eat, allowing Kori to conduct the rest of her conversation. He caught a glimpse of indigo in the corner of his eye, and he got out of line as he turned to catch sight of Raven walking into the book store that was close by.

"Anything interesting?" a voice reached his ear and he turned languidly to catch sight of none other than Storm.

"Does it matter, Sean?" he answered, using his real name in the process.

"We haven't finished our-" Storm was interrupted as a person was hurled through one of the glass windows on the bookstore's second floor.

X went inside the bookstore quickly, ignoring the flare of pain from his side. He quickly looked around and saw several people on the floor and another came hurtling off the second floor of the bookstore with a yell.

_**3 minutes earlier…. **_

Raven's search for an interesting book had been unsuccessful so far. Inside the bookstore's horror section, she scanned through many titles before moving into another section. She reached the end of the aisle when several men stopped in front of her and several more behind her.

"So this is the Hellborn bitch?" one of the men asked as he leered at her.

"She doesn't look so tough…" another behind her gave a laugh as he grabbed her shoulder.

Raven pulled an effective shoulder toss that sent him flying through one of the windows. The others were shocked and with two quick kicks two more flew off the second story and onto the floor below. She punched another off the floor when the blond watching from below opened fire at her.

X tackled the blond to the floor, knocking the gun out of her grasp as Storm ran inside. "What the hell around you doing?" he yelled at X, pulling him off the girl before he could punch her unconscious. The blond took her chance and ran off.

Raven had slipped on her hood, running out of the bookstore and into the milling crowd of people trying to get away from the gunfire. X snagged the gun and took off, Storm following close behind him as he pushed through the people.

Once he was outside, he caught sight of Kori looking through the crowd as Gar, Wally, and Roy stood around her. X joined her while Storm walked off in another direction after giving Kori a wave.

X gave them a quick run down of the story, omitting parts of it because of Gar, Roy, and Wally. They all split up once they were filled in and once X dropped off Gar and Kori to their own house, he went to the park.

He walked along the path, when the cold barrel of a gun made contact with his head. "Who are you working for?" Raven hissed as she led him towards the spot where he met her.

"What are you talking about?" X asked blankly.

"You were there when the bitch shot at me," Raven snarled as she turned X around to face her. "You were there when I confronted Robin as well. That makes it twice that someone's shot at me and you happen to be around. Who are you working for?"

"I was just passing by when you confronted Slade's lieutenant," X answered with a sneer, "and as for today… I spotted you when you went inside the bookstore, so I was keeping an eye on you."

"Keeping an eye on me?" Raven scoffed at that, "and you so happen to save me again?"

"No…I happened to tackle the bitch that shot me," X's voice went cold.

Raven went silent as he lifted his shirt, showing her the bullet wound. "The bitch shot me at the docks and I owed her some payback."

Raven lowered the gun as she rubbed her eyes, "This isn't making any sense. She shot at me and you say she shot you too?"

"No, I happened to jump at the bullet," X answered sarcastically as he pulled out the gun he took from the blond. "Here, this is her weapon."

Raven took it and shoved it into her waist band along with her own gun as she took a seat on the pink squirrel playground ornament. X pulled out his pack of cigs, lighting one as she turned towards him extending her hand.

He gave her his lit cigarette and lit another for himself, letting the nicotine rush through him. "Can't believe I was this worried about you…" he muttered, watching the smoke drift upwards.

"Why would you be worried about me?"

"Does it look I know why?" X snapped before turning away. "You've been on my mind since that night."

She gave a snide laugh at that. "I doubt that."

X whirled around, pulling her into a hard kiss. Raven was too surprised to even bother fighting back as he kissed her, slowly surrendering into the kiss until X pulled away. "You doubt that?" he asked almost angry before he stood up.

"I'm gone…" he said as he walked off, leaving Raven sitting there dazed for a bit before she snapped out of it. For several seconds she contemplated on following him and shooting him, but she decided against it.

_**A/N - and that about ends this chapter of Hard Luck…. Hope everyone enjoys it… well… catch you all next time….. **_


	6. Chapter 6 Slow Motion

_**Yeah… just another chap of Hard Luck… Don't own characters from Capcom, Del Rey, DC…just own like 2 characters or maybe more… depends… but yeah. Just finished DDR SuperNova so I'll update to celebrate. **_

"**_Light a fire to the fang that cannot be reached. So that I do not have to see that star. So that I do not slit this throat." – Bleach Volume 11_**

**_6. Slow Motion  
_**

_**Last time on Hard Luck….**_

"_You've been on my mind since that night." _

_She gave a snide laugh at that. "I doubt that." _

_X whirled around, pulling her into a hard kiss. Raven was too surprised to even bother fighting back as he kissed her, slowly surrendering into the kiss until X pulled away. "You doubt that?" he asked almost angry before he stood up. _

_  
"I'm gone…" he said as he walked off, leaving Raven sitting there dazed for a bit before she snapped out of it. For several seconds she contemplated on following him and shooting him, but she decided against it. _

_**AGX**_

"What happened?" the voice was cold and emotionless.

"I couldn't kill her," the blond girl's voice shook a bit as she answered.

"What happened?" the cold voice asked again.

"She was better trained than what I expected," another excuse rolled off her tongue.

"What happened?" the owner of the voice was losing patience.

"The Dark Knight was there and he stopped me from killing her," her voice was sounding desperate as she looked around the dark room. She sat at a wooden table with a bright light illuminating her and the table while the rest of the room remained shrouded in darkness.

"Your report stated that you succeeded in killing him. Tell me, why was he able to interrupt your task?" the sound of a lighter clicking open and close started up from one of the corners of the room.

"He lost too much blood to be able to survive, I personally witnessed it," she bit her lip as she cursed her own luck.

"Am I right to think that you might've failed in the attack against Slade's lieutenant?" there was a flicker of flame in a different corner and the glow of a lit cigarette reached her eyes.

"The rocket struck its mark, their chances of survival were minimal at best…" she said, licking her dry lips as her gaze followed the cigarette.

"I will take your word on that…" the voice sounded indifferent. The blond sighed in relief as she slowly started to relax. "Do not fail me again… or it will be your last, Tara." A door opened and then closed, leaving Tara alone in the dark room.

She waited until she was sure there was no one around and she quickly exited the room herself. "I told you that this is no game," a man wearing a white doctor's coat stood near the door.

"Don't start trying to sneak up on me, cause I will shoot you, Chang," Tara snapped walking off as the Asian man followed her closely at her side. "How's his condition?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Chang asked as he led her to another room, opening the door. The quiet beeping of the machines surrounding the bed filled the room as Mammoth lay on it. "He did quite a number on him. Mammoth is recovering but it will take a while."

Tara gave a slow nod before exiting the room, making her way to the exit of the building. "Where are you going?" Chang was once again at her side, "I urge you to refrain from doing something stupid."

"Mammoth's in there because of him. This isn't stupid," Tara answered coldly as she turned to face Chang.

"You attacked him on the boss's orders. He is very formidable as Mammoth found out and he will be guarded by the other Knights," Chang stated as he rummaged through his pockets until he found a pack of gum. He popped a piece into his mouth as he continued "I suggest you keep away from him."

Tara's clenched fist collided with Chang's stomach. "Don't suggest anything to me, _Doctor_." She said with a sneer as she walked away, leaving a doubled over Chang alone.

"Such a foolish child…" Chang grunted, straightening himself before heading back to check up on his patient.

_**Elsewhere… **_

"You okay?" someone groaned weakly.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" was the response that was given.

"Who the hell was that, Robin?" Stone asked as he slumped against a metal wall, his shoulder wrapped up tightly.

"I don't know yet… but I'll find out eventually," Robin said, muttering a curse as he held was remained of his and Stone's cellphones. "For now, we just have to make it back to headquarters so let's go."

Stone stood up slowly, following Robin as they stepped out of a metal storage shed. Both limped off in the cover of the night.

_**Two days later…**_

"It wasn't the Hellborns…" X repeated once again, giving a frustrated sigh as he was forced to repeat himself.

"Are you sure of this?" Vergil asked, gazing directly at X.

"Where'd you get this bit of info from?" Dante's question was left unanswered as Setsuna silenced him with a hard tap on the head.

"Yes, I'm sure. Considering that the same blond opened fire on Raven, who is a Hellborn." X answered as he cleaned his knives thoroughly before putting them away.

Dante slid a pair of guns across the table, "Those knives weren't much help last time. I think its time you carry these with you."

Before X could even consider arguing with Dante, Vergil turned to him and told him firmly "You are taking them with you. I will not see you out of this house without a weapon." X recognized an order when he heard one, especially one coming from Vergil.

X picked up both Taurus PT 24/7's off the table and inspected them before putting them back on the table. "Anything else? Maybe a rocket launcher or some grenades?" he asked sarcastically.

Setsuna, who had remained quiet until that moment, knocked him on the head "You're prone to taking foolish risks, so if you don't want the guns then I'll be the one escorting you everywhere."

X gave a smirk as he asked "Everywhere? So you'll join me in the shower?" he gave her his most charming smile only to be knocked on the head again by her. "Hey! I'm a wounded man!" He glanced at his watch, catching the date.

"I'm going out," X said, grabbing the guns and sliding them into his waistband as Dante slid him two clips. "I shouldn't need more than that," X said as he went upstairs to retrieve a zip up sweater.

Setsuna was waiting outside, dressed in a pair of form fitting black jeans, a v-neck shirt with a black jacket over it. "I'll be joining you," was all she as she tossed X a pair of keys.

X stopped himself from arguing, settling for getting into the drivers seat of a dark green Toyota MR2 Spyder. "I still don't like your car…" X stated, getting punched in the shoulder as he started the engine.

It was a quiet trip, both X and Setsuna silent, even as he parked in front of a gaudy flower shop. Inside the shop, he looked around a bit before he walked to the counter where the girl manning it was staring at him, "A bouquet of pink carnations," he said simply, watching as the girl behind the counter blushed a bit.

He got back in the car after carefully handing Setsuna the flowers. "I thought you forgot," Setsuna's voice cut through the silence as X drove through the city once again.

"I never forget." X answered curtly, as he parked in front of a cemetery. He passed row upon row of graves, before stopping at one plain black headstone.

_Genève Styler_

_1986-2005_

_Loving Sister, Caring Daughter_

_You will be missed _

"**_We reach out with our hands, Brush away the clouds and pierce the sky. To grab the moon and Mars, But we still can't grasp the truth."_**

X placed the flowers on the grave, crouching in front of it. "Hey, big sis, it's been a while hasn't it? One whole year without visiting you, right?"

Setsuna watched him converse by himself, surprised that she felt sad for him. After another 10 minutes, X stood up, his face back to the blank poker face he always wore. They were heading down the winding path, when X spotted Kori herself walking in another direction. 'What's Kori doing here?' the thought crossed his mind as he followed silently after, Setsuna following him as well.

"What do you want, Richard?" Kori's sweet voice carried through the little patch of trees where she was.

"Someone tried to put me and Stone in a grave. Who the hell is it?" A familiar voice snarled out and X tensed up.

"I do not know, I've had my people looking into it… but it's like this girl doesn't exist," Kori answered, watching as Robin tensed up before pulling a gun on her. "I never said it was a female, Kori. So… What do you know?" his voice cold, eyes blazing furiously.

Kori's eyes widen at the sight of the gun in Robin's hand. "W-what are you d-doing?" she asked, frightened.

"You have information that you're withholding from me. And now its time you talked." Kori took a few steps back, "You might be my girlfriend, but its business before pleasure."

X pulled out both his pistols, closing his eyes as he muttered "Sorry for the disrespect," before stepping into Robin's line of sight.

"You!" Robin leveled his gun at X.

"Kori… get out of here." X motioned to where Setsuna stood, watching the whole situation coolly. Robin's eyes widened as he caught sight of Setsuna, "the God Blade?" his voice trembled a bit. Kori took the chance to dart behind Setsuna and stay there. Robin grimaced once he realized what Setsuna's presence signified "Dark Knights…" he muttered.

"So, I hear you've been looking for me? What for?" X asked casually as he holstered one of his guns, calling Robin's attention back to him.

"You fucked up a hit the last time we met," Robin snarled back, back in control of himself.

"You call that a hit? She called you out… and you had one of your flunkies shoot her," Robin bristled at that comment, but X interrupted him "Why'd you point a gun at Kori? If I don't like your answer, I'm going to shoot you. Be warned." He got a comfortable grip on the gun, keeping it centered on Robin's head.

"How does she know about the blond assassin? Is she working with the Hellborn bitch?" Robin gave Kori a glare.

It had started as a cloudy, overcast day and now slowly rain drops fell to the earth. "So, you got a visit from her too?" X asked, with a harsh grin. "Kori knows about the assassin from me, and watch your mouth."

"So you're in league with her?" Robin leveled his second gun at X.

X gave a harsh laugh, as he pulled up his t-shirt as the rain started to pour even harder. "She shot me and tried to kill Raven. So we're all in the same situation. I'm not in league with anything."

Robin slowly lowered his weapons, watching as X did the same. "How can I trust you on that?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"Because I would've shot you already if you couldn't," X answered, completely at ease. X turned his back on Robin as he started walking away. "Walk away. Today isn't a good day to shed blood, and not here."

Robin holstered both his guns as he watched Kori, Setsuna, and X walk away. After several moments, he turned and walked out the way he entered.

X walked in silence, not sparing Kori a glance as Setsuna kept an eye out. "T-thank you…" Kori muttered nervously, flinching when Setsuna fixed her with a cold look.

Once they were at the car, X tossed Setsuna the keys. "Take her home," he ordered, pushing his hair back out of his face before walking away. The quiet rumble of the car engine filled reached his ears as it drove away, quickly being swallowed by the sounds of thunder echoing throughout the sky.

He walked through the streets of downtown Jump, watching people hurry by cowering from the rain. Umbrellas, rain coats, hats and anything to keep the rain off of them as traffic was as slow as a crawl. X leaned against a wall in a freeway underpass, pausing to light a cigarette as he watched the world around him. A homeless man shuffled up to him slowly and gave him a pleading look.

X pulled out a couple bills from his pocket and handed them to him without a word. He exhaled watching the homeless man shuffle away from him with a smile on his face. He continued his walk through the city, still smoking as the lightning kept flashing in the sky.

He stopped once again, to light another cigarette under the small awning provided by a café. He succeeded in lighting it when someone bumped into him hard enough to knock it out of his hands. He turned to look at who bumped him, coming face to face with Raven. "Well, isn't this strange…" X said with a smirk.

_Well I start just broke  
Of a line in your tasteless joke_

Before he could say anything else, Raven slapped him. Hard. "Who do you think you are?" she hissed at him, her eyes filled with anger.

"So does this mean that you're pissed at me?" X asked dryly, rubbing his cheek a bit.

_What's up with that hutch you've stolen  
Don't worry 'cause it's not broken, it's just swollen_

Raven scoffed as she looked away. "Its not my fault you make me feel…" X said, another cigarette in his mouth as Raven's cheeks colored slightly.

"So now it's my fault?" Raven rolled her eyes as she started to walk away. The telltale fork of lightning lit up the sky quickly followed by thunder. Raven flinched a bit before managing to control herself as she muttered a few curses.

_Could anticipate  
How you're feeling from day to day  
Well about you now, that's your needing  
_

"Don't worry about the lightning or the thunder. They can't hurt you," Raven turned, catching sight of X walking right next to her. He handed her his cigarette, watching her hands tremble a bit as she took it "Didn't think a professional was scared of a bit of thunder and lightning…" he chuckled a bit

"I'm not scared," Raven said, forcefully exhaling a cloud of smoke as X gave her a smirk. "What are you following me for? Are you going to stalk me now?"

_Don't worry 'cause they're laughing, and you're bleeding_

"You need someone to watch over you." X answered with a shrug as he stepped over a large puddle of water. He tugged Raven back as a car splashed across the puddle at the edge of the curb. "See?"

"I don't need anyone to watch over me, and definitely not you." Raven pulled herself away from X. She crossed the street quickly, avoiding another large puddle as X quickly caught up to her once more.

_Well I'm drowning your ocean  
It's much cooler in slow motion_

"It seems like you do…" X answered back as casual as he could be, dropping the cigarette as Raven whirled around to face him.

_Don't care where you've went  
When it's obvious that you bore  
I'm not worried 'cause it's five minutes to your glory_

Raven stepped closer as she snarled at him "You don't know what I need."

"That's where you're wrong," X answered as he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes meeting hers fully. He pulled her into another kiss, this time it was gentle and slow as the rain continued to fall.

_Well I'm drowning your ocean  
It's much cooler in slow motion_

**_A/N: and that's about the end of this chapter of Hard Luck. The lyrics in here are from "Slow Motion" by Nickelback. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this… now Adios for now… R&R. _**


	7. Chapter 7 Fearless

**_Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's a plane! No! It's another chapter of Hard Luck. Well, here comes another… Like I've said before, I don't own Capcom characters; I don't own DC characters, no one from Del Rey. Just my own personification of Red X's civilian self… so on with the show… _**

"**_I can't protect you holding a sword, I can't embrace you holding a sword."- Bleach Volume 5_**

**_7. Fearless… _**

_**Last time on Hard Luck….**_

_Raven stepped closer as she snarled at him "You don't know what I need." _

"_That's where you're wrong," X answered as he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes meeting hers fully. He pulled her into another kiss, this time it was gentle and slow as the rain continued to fall. _

**_Well I'm drowning in your ocean  
It's much cooler in slow motion_**

_**AGX**_

It was still raining. But even the rain couldn't take Raven completely out of his thoughts. Her scent, her taste, the look in her eyes as she slowly surrendered to their second kiss. He had watched her run away, from him or from herself, he wasn't sure but he watched as she ran away.

"So, you enjoy that?" Vergil's cool voice reached him. X turned, catching sight of Vergil leaning against a dark blue lotus elise. "Don't get attached, you know the rules. She's not one of us, she's a Hellborn."

"Fuck the rules, Vergil, I never like to play by them and I won't start now. Not now," X snarled as he walked away, pulling his wet hood over his head as another flash of lightning lit the sky.

"Genève won't be happy if you die," Vergil muttered as he climbed into his car and drove away.

Raven stopped running, now that there was a big enough distance between herself and X. She stopped to catch her breath a bit as the cold rain made her shiver. "I hate cold weather," she muttered to herself, trying to stop from thinking about the last few moments.

"Ay, baby, got a bit of time?" a coarse voice reached her ears as she walked across an alley entrance. She ignored the man and continued walking on when the man called out to her again "Come on baby, spare a little time for old Willy." A hand grabbed her shoulder roughly and she was pulled into the alley by a hulking, overweight man decked in a thoroughly soaked tacky green suit.

"Aw, sweet stuff, don't you know how to greet a man when he talks to you?" he leered at her, eyeing her over keenly a depraved smile on his face. "Why don't you let Willy show you how to answer properly?" he was reaching for her again, but this time a fist collided with his face followed by a kick to the stomach.

"You goddamned bitch, I'll teach you to attack me," he wheezed as he straightened himself and took a step forward. The sound of the Beretta made when Raven cocked it froze him as another fork of lightning split the sky.

"You never touch me, never." Raven said as she pulled the trigger three times, a peal of thunder muting out the gunshots. She stepped out of the alley and walked back home leaving the dead body of one Willy Stills a puddle of his own blood.

**_Kori Anders residence…. _**

"I think I did something wrong, Garfield," Kori said, slumping on the couch with a sigh. "I made a big mistake and today, today is the day that I paid for it."

"What do you mean mistake? What'd you do?" Gar asked curiously, watching his sister sad expression.

"I went to meet Richard today," Kori paused, choking back a sob "my boyfriend Richard."

"What? Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend and you kept it from me?" Gar was definitely surprised. He didn't know she had a boyfriend, he thought she was crushing on X or at least close to asking him to be her boyfriend, but this was something new to him.

"Yes, my boyfriend Richard. I went to meet him today and X saw me with him," tears were coursing down Kori's face even as she tried not to cry. "X didn't know about Richard and he didn't know about Richard being one of Slade's Mercs."

At this point, surprised face of Gar turned slightly pale "He's one of the Mercs? Tell me you're joking," his voice was filled with dread as he spoke those words. "I may act like I'm a dumbass, but even I know that X is one of the Dark Knights. And you're dating a Merc?"

Kori broke down in tears, leaving Gar to try to comfort her as he made soothing noises. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" it was more of a statement than a question.

"R-Richard pulled a gun on me, telling me that it's always business before pleasure," Kori spoke through the sobs as the look in Gar's eyes turned murderous. "It wasn't the first time that X has a run in with Richard but this time…. X knows about me going out with Richard."

"What happened then?"

"He saved me, but I think I may have lost his trust. He didn't bother talking to me at all as we left." Gar listened as Kori was wracked with another wave of sobs, slowly rocking her.

**_At the Lost Avalon night club…. Nighttime… _**

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Trish asked as she watched both Dante and X knock back another shot of vodka. "I don't want to have to carry one of you home tonight." She gave a sigh as she watched them drink some more. "Idiots," She mumbled as she walked off to the rest room.

Trish stopped near the restroom door, leaning against the wall as she nodded her head to the music. "What do you want?" she asked the person next to her. "You've been watching us for a while, haven't you?"

"Don't worry. I'm not your enemy, not yet. Until I find out exactly what's going on," the casualness in the voice sounded a bit false to Trish's ears as she scanned the room again. "But I can't say anything about her," her companion's blue eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness as he nodded towards the farthest corner of the room.

"She's tense, but she won't do anything. She's alone and she's outmatched," Trish said dismissively, as she watched Dante and X continue their drinking. "So, what is it that you want to find out?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Eventually."

"You know that if you place their lives in danger, I'll kill you. Vergil will kill you. Or he will kill you." Trish stated, giving a glance at her companion before straightening herself and entering the restroom.

It was sometime later that both Dante and X walked out of the club, swaying slightly as Trish led the way to her blood red SRT-8 Challenger. She waited until both Dante and X climbed in before taking a look around quickly, catching sight of someone near the alley next to the club. 'I see you…' the thought crossed her mind as she climbed into her car, starting it and leaving with a roar of its engine.

"Shit… couldn't get close to him," Tara muttered as she leaned against the alley wall, her heart pounding hard. "There were two knights with him and they both knew I was watching them." She cursed again as she stalked out of the alley and into her black SLR. She drove away as another person watched her from the alley; the street lamp's light giving his blue eyes a slight glow to them.

_**Next Morning…. **_

"Wake up." Setsuna gently shook X, trying to get him up. She'd been doing so for the past 7 minutes and she was getting irritated. X rolled over and continued sleeping. Setsuna bowed her head for a quick plead of forgiveness before she punched X in the stomach. Hard.

X woke up with a load groan, rolling off his bed and landing on the floor with a loud thump. He curled himself up in a fetal position, groaning loudly as he opened his eyes. "What the fuck was that for?" he wheezed, sitting up against the bed slowly.

"Vergil sent me up here. He said it was time for you to get up, it's a school day after all," Setsuna answered back as she watched X stand slowly, still wearing the jeans from the night before. "You were drinking last night," She said, the smell of liquor reaching her nose as she stepped out of the room.

He went to take a shower, returning to the room 25 minutes later only to get his cellphone, two of his knives and only one gun. He walked down the stairs in time to catch sight of Vergil stalking out of the front door, "What's wrong with him?" Dante asked, stifling a huge yawn.

X shrugged his shoulders, grabbing some food off Setsuna's plate before leaving the house. Short while later, he was climbing out of Setsuna's green MR2 Spyder, backpack in hand as he locked it. He slept through his first four classes, waking up only when the bell signaling lunch rang.

"Hey! Styler!" X ignored the shout that filled the hallway, turning and going down a flight of stairs 2 by 2's. He heard the sound of footsteps follow him, speeding up until the owner walked next to him. "Why the hell are you ignoring me?"

"What do you want, Sean?" X took some satisfaction in watching Storm scowl at him.

"Why are the Hellborns interested in you now?" the question was blunt and to the point, which is something that Sean specializes in. "What the hell are you getting tangled up with them?" he pulled out a letter from his jeans pocket, handing it to X.

"What I do or don't do, is my problem. I don't owe you an explanation, got it?" X said irritably as he ignored the piece of paper. "Since when are you an errand boy anyway?"

"I'm not an errand boy… But I was given this to make sure you got it and read it, understand?" Sean explained as X took the paper from him.

X opened it, reading its contents before balling it up and tossing it over his shoulder. "Tell who ever gave you this… that what I do is none of their concern," he stated, leaving as Sean picked up the note and crushed it.

"You're making a mistake, Styler. A big one," Sean walked off, slipping the piece of crumpled paper into his pocket as Kori watched the exchange from above. She climbed down the stairs at a quick pace as she headed to X's hangout spot.

_**Outside…**_

"What'd you do to Kori?" Wally asked, his anger evident as he clenched his fists and unclenched them. "She didn't show up to any of the classes you were in. None. And she's been quiet ever since yesterday."

X gave a shrug, eating his bag of chips calmly while Wally glared at him. "I didn't do anything to her. I haven't even spoken to her at all. So why don't you piss off, West."

X knew it was coming, yet couldn't avoid the punch that made contact with his face courtesy of Wally. He stood up, looking at his spilled bag of Doritos with a frown before glancing back at Wally. "Walk away, Wally. And I'll forget about that punch."

Wally took another swing at him, punching X in the stomach. Before he could back up from the doubled over X, he caught a fist to the mouth forcing him to stumble away. "Remember, you started this. Not me." X's calm voice made him even angrier.

Wally's fist lashed out quickly, two sharp jabs that X blocked with his left arm while punching Wally on the side of the head staggering him. X followed through with a kick that dropped him, only backing away to allow his opponent time to get up.

By now, plenty of people had rushed over to watch the fight, surrounding both fighters in a tight ring that kept security out. Wally got to his feet quickly, as he lunged at X once again. X sidestepped the clumsy tackle that Wally tried to nail him with; dropping him with a kick to the side as the people around them boo'd him.

People started to scatter, as more security converged on the place, leaving only Wally and X standing in the center, glaring at each other. "Wally! What the hell did I tell you man?" Roy yelled he watched both of them get cuffed and pulled away to the offices.

"You're late, Kori. But in retrospect, that's a good thing," Roy's voice full of amusement. "They got into a fight. You know how much of an idiot Wally is." Kori quickly ran off, headed towards the offices leaving Roy to his own devices.

_**30 minutes later… **_

"Shouldn't you be heading to class?" X arched an eyebrow at Kori, who stood by the stairs. Kori gave a small squeak of surprise before turning to X, who gave her a grin. "Still scare easily, don't you?"

Kori's face reddened a bit as she looked away. "Hey, I'm not going to bite, you know? Unless you want me to…" he added at the end, with a purr. When Kori didn't react as she usually would, he gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair "Okay, what's wrong?" quick and to the point.

"Um… aren't you mad?" Kori finally turned to face him as he sat down on the stairs, lounging back. "Don't you dislike me for not telling you about Richard?"

X gave her an amused smirk, "Mad at you? Dislike you? Not even close." He stood up again, looking around before he grasped her hand and pulled her away. "Let's talk about this somewhere else, someone's watching and listening."

Kori wordlessly followed, looking back to the stairs and catching a glimpse of whitish blond hair.

"What do you want?" Raven arched an eyebrow at Sean, who climbed back up the stairs. "Why are you following him around? First it was me and now it's him, don't you have some witless thugs to boss around?" Raven moved from where she had been leaning on the second floor rail, listening to both X and Kori's conversation before Sean interrupted them.

"He wasn't supposed to notice me," Sean complained as he followed Raven down the hall. "On another subject though, you know it's bad to develop any _feelings _towards him, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Raven answered, feigning ignorance which only caused Sean to burst into laughter. "He knows that someone's following him and if you're smart, you'll stay away from him."

"No worries, Rae," Sean shrugged, "but if you don't know what I'm talking about, then what about those kisses? What are they?" he asked, returning the conversation to its initial point. "You look like you were enjoying them from what I saw…" He trailed off with a smirk.

"Mention that one more time and this time, I will shoot you." Raven snarled at him.

"The boss won't be so happy if you shoot me. Since I still have to clean up your mess," Sean stated with a shrug as Raven glared at him. "Don't get too distracted, cause then the boss might send me out to eliminate those _distractions_."

_**A/N: That brings another chapter of Hard Luck to a close. Thanks to all that've read it so far… Adios for now… and see you all next chapter. **_


	8. Chapter 8 Blinded in Chains

_**Whoa… I seem to be on a roll here… another update for Hard Luck? Eh… I don't own the Titans… they're property… of whoever owns them. Don't own Dante, Vergil and those of Devil May Cry. Don't own Sakurazaki Setsuna, she's from the Del Rey published manga Negima! But yeah… on with the story. **_

"_**I have always been afraid… Always pretending to follow you closely, always pretending to sharpen my teeth, when the truth is, I am…. Scared to death just treading on your shadow**__**." – Bleach 16**_

_**8. Blinded in Chains…**_

**Last time on Hard Luck….**

"_Mention that one more time and this time, I will shoot you." Raven snarled at him._

"_The boss won't be so happy if you shoot me. Since I still have to clean up your mess," Sean stated with a shrug as Raven glared at him. "Don't get too distracted, cause then the boss might send me out to eliminate those __distractions__."_

_**AGX**_

_**Several hours later… **_

"Like I've said before, you tend to overreact. Seriously." X leaned back against the padded cushions of the booth he and Kori sat in. He popped a couple of fries in his mouth as Kori watched him. "But seriously, is that the reason why you were mad at me? Cause I punched the Merc out?"

Kori gave him a nod, choosing to busy herself in eating her salad. Weezer filled the booth and X pulled out his cellphone, answering "Yo," he listened for sometime "Why me? Why won't you send Dante? You know I don't do that." He hung up the phone, sliding it back into his pocket as Kori watched him.

"Who was that?"

"I'm being used as an errand boy," X said with distaste. He paid for the meal and once they were outside, he caught sight of Vergil's Lotus Elise parking. Setsuna stepped out of the car, giving a goodbye to Vergil as he drove off, before making her way to X.

"I'm your backup," she said simply, tossing X 2 backpacks.

"So, you want a ride home, Kori? Or will you get Roy to pick you up?" X asked Kori as he opened the car door and dropped the backpack into the seat.

"I'll ask Roy for a ride," Kori answered nervously, keeping her eyes on X to avoid looking at Setsuna. X waited for a few minutes to make sure that Kori was getting a ride before taking off.

_**On route…**_

"So, why me?" X's question cut the silence between him and Setsuna.

"Because I prefer working with you, makes things easier." Setsuna replied, reaching into the backseat and grabbing both backpacks. She began rummaging through one of them, laying a carefully folded and clean black long sleeve shirt. "Put this on," she slid him a pair of slim rectangle framed green tinted sunglasses. He slipped them on after putting on the shirt as he watched her starting taking things out of the other pack.

She passed him his other Taurus pistol along with several clips. She then tried to hand X a bulletproof vest only to get a questioning look.

"What's this for?"

"Its general purpose is to stop a bullet." Setsuna replied dryly as she strapped her katana to her side and slid 2 guns into side holsters.

"Well, no shit," X rolled his eyes, "I don't use these, they hinder my movement." He tossed the vest back into the car, watching her scowl at him. "Let me guess. Vergil planned on me wearing that, right?" with a nod for a response, he rolled his eyes as he checked his guns once more.

"Let's go." He followed behind Setsuna at a slow pace. After climbing the stairs, they arrived on the dark fourth floor where another car awaited them at the end. Setsuna pulled out her cellphone, holding it to her side as it rung.

A man wearing a black suit appeared from behind a pillar and motioned for them to step forward. "Are you carrying weapons?" he asked, watching as X rolled his eyes at him. "I'm going to ask again, are you carrying weapons?" the guard's hand went to his side where his gun was holstered.

"Look, rookie, I'm only gonna tell you this once. Dark Knights are always armed. Always." X snapped, stepping past the guard. Before the guard could finish unholstering his gun, X had one of his guns against his throat.

"He's still in training, so you'll have to forgive him for his lapse of judgment." A kind, yet commanding voice reached him and X holstered his gun. He turned around to see Setsuna finishing her bow to the man that stood a few feet away.

He looked like an older version of Vergil and Dante, dressed in an immaculate black suit, his almost platinum blonde hair carefully combed back out of his face. His voice was smooth, with a tone that seemed to radiate power. He was the head of the Sparda family, Jericho Sparda, and current leader of the Dark Knights.

X bowed to the man, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Now, no need for that. You're practically my son and that's no way to be greeted." He straightened up and shook hands with Jericho, who smiled. "I worried when Vergil informed me of your attack," he stepped back as they both relinquished their grip.

"We're here to be your guard detail for this afternoon, sir." Setsuna stated, ignoring the glare that the other guard shot at him.

"Guard detail?" X groaned at the thought, wondering how long it'd take him to strangle Vergil and move onto Dante. "Alright," he pointed to the guard, "Is the rookie coming along?"

"No, he shall take your car back to headquarters." Jericho answered curtly, turning and getting back inside his car. X turned and tossed the bodyguard the car keys and waited until he received the other set in return.

There was a heavy amount of traffic throughout the more populated areas of Jump city, making their trip longer. With Setsuna driving, X sat in the passenger seat of the dark blue Saleen S7, answering questions for Jericho. "So, tell me what led to your injury after the mission in the dock area?"

"I got careless. I thought the area was clear and when I was leaving, I encountered 2 people." He kept his gaze outside, the world tinted green in his eyes as he watched for threats.

"2 people? That doesn't sound so good for you," Jericho's answer lacked severity.

"I took a slug to the torso. I would've gutted the shooter but her guard protected her." X clamped his teeth down on an unlit cigarette, Setsuna's gaze only stopping him from lighting it. "The guard isn't going to be doing much anymore, not after I ripped into his cervical vertebra."

"So you've effectively turned him into a quadriplegic?" Jericho sounded slightly amused. He didn't bother him that his surrogate son might've left a man completely paralyzed. After all, it was self defense on his part and the viciousness was required in this business.

"Yeah… should be. I rarely mess that up." X answered as he reached for the stereo, tapping the play button on the mp3 player. Music slowly filtered through the speakers, filling the car.

"You can light that up, you know." The sound of a lighter was lost in the music and the flaming lighter appeared held by a black gloved hand. X lowered the window as he took a drag of the cigarette before offering back the pack to his boss. "Thank you, but I have my own." Cinnamon scented smoke reached Setsuna's nose and she shook her head in disapproval.

The remainder of the trip was spent in silence; the only sounds were sounds of music as The Doors filtered through the speakers. She drove into the lower level of a bank parking lot, bringing the car to a halt near the elevators. X was the first one out, his eyes darting about in search of threats. After making sure that the area was clear, he brushed off stray bits of ash from his black t-shirt and fixing the shirt collar.

The echo of footsteps reached his ears and he casually turned in the required direction. He flicked away the cigarette butt in the direction of the incoming people, another already in his mouth and being lit. Setsuna joined him outside, eyeing the other side with cold eyes as Jericho got out of the car.

After a 30 second staring match, the guards led them to an elevator. The guards remained there on the lot as the elevator started its rapid ascent. "I hate elevator music," Setsuna commented with a scowl.

"Good afternoon, Arella," Jericho greeted the woman that waited for them. Both Setsuna and X kept an eye on her as Jericho kissed the back of her hand in greeting. 'She looks familiar' the thought crossed X's mind.

"I see that there's a new face with you this time," Arella commented as she led them through the long hallway. "I expected either one of your sons. He's handsome," She gave X a smile, a smile that many might've taken for much more, but he kept his face blank as he took another drag of his cigarette.

"He's another son of mine," Jericho's answer received a questioning look from Arella. When he didn't elaborate, she let it go as they reached an impressive set of mahogany doors. When Jericho gave him a look, X crushed the remains of his cigarette in an ashtray that stood next to the door, and he passed through the doors behind Arella.

He watched silently from a corner of the room as Jericho conducted his meeting with Jonathan Scathe, leader of the Hellborns. He didn't pay much attention to what they spoke about, but he caught Scathe looking at him several times. Once it was over, Setsuna was the first to go out and followed by Jericho.

"A word of advice to you, young knight, be very careful when trying to court a hellborn." Scathe's words were a nothing more than a veiled threat. X walked out, refusing to respond.

Raven turned the corner and saw X walking out of her father's office along with people she knew to be Dark Knights. She watched and waited until he walked out of sight with a cigarette clamped in his mouth before she entered the office.

"Ah, you've arrived late," Arella said in an almost sing a song voice. "You just missed meeting Jericho Sparda's third handsome son." Scathe scowled at Arella while Raven processed what she'd heard. 'He's a son of Sparda?'

"I see, is there anything else I'm needed for, mother?" Raven asked as she continued to stand straight, waiting for her dismissal.

"Not at all, dear. But your father doesn't approve of the young knight's courting of you." Raven controlled herself admirably as she heard her mother's throaty chuckle. With a wave of his hand, Scathe dismissed Raven, who walked out quickly to avoid being interrogated by her mother.

_**Several Days later…**_

"Yo… wake up, your school suspension is up and Vergil's taking you back." X groaned when Dante threw open the door and yelled. He was about to try and burrow under the covers again but this time the mattress flipped. "Wake up."

He groaned and got up slowly, seeing Vergil holding his mattress and glaring at him. With a defeated sigh, he grabbed a pair of black pants and a green t-shirt among other things and headed into the shower. "You take too long in there and I'm getting Setsuna to yank you outta there," he heard Dante complain halfway through his shower.

Once done and dressed, he grabbed several of his knives and a Taurus along with his backpack. Vergil was sitting at the breakfast table with Setsuna and Dante, drinking a cup of coffee. X went rummaging through the fridge and grabbed a tall black can with a green m on it and closed the fridge, following after Vergil.

Their trip to the school was a quiet one and Vergil kept the stereo off. X sat outside the office while Vergil spoke to the principal and when he was called in; he was given a written pass back to class. He waited till Vergil was gone before walking in the opposite direction of his class, cutting through the building and heading towards the back of the library building.

"Yo…" he greeted Raven, who sat against a wall with a book in her hands. She looked up and gave him a nod in greeting as he took a seat next to her. She turned to look at him when she heard a loud pop and saw him drinking from his drink. "MONSTER Energy? You drink that?"

X gave a shrug, "Tastes good. I drink it cause of the taste, no other reason." He offered her the can and she took a quick drink before handing it back. "Didn't know you were the daughter of a big player, that was a surprise."

"I didn't think you'd end up being a son of Sparda." Raven answered, turning a page in her book. "Now I know why Scathe is unhappy with me." Raven shook her head at that, her left hand opening and closing slowly.

X took another swallow of his drink before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He had one clamped between his teeth and lit when he offered one to Raven, who shook her head. With a shrug, he put it away the pack and grabbed his backpack. "Why's your father pissed at you?"

"He owes the Dark Knights a debt of honor," Raven eyed his cigarette and took it from him, ignoring X's complaints. "Be careful around Sean, he's one of us but he's taken an interest in you."

X arched an eyebrow at her, "Nice way to pay back a debt." The bell rung and she flicked away the cigarette as he stood up, giving her a hand up.

School had let out and X was walking down the street when he heard the telltale sounds of wheels screeching. He looked back and saw Raven running in his direction and a familiar black car heading his way as well. He took off running when he saw the barrel of an assault rifle pop out the window.

"Well, I can see you're popular," He said as she caught up to him, both of them speeding up when a chunk of sidewalk got carved up behind them. "In the middle of the damn day…" X snarled as he pulled out his Taurus and caught Raven pulling out her Beretta. They cut through an empty lot, jumping over a wooden fence as more bullets flew close to them.

"They're gonna circle around to that side," Raven pointed out as X looked around. "This way," he took off at a run towards the alley next to the apartment complex across the street, dodging around an ice cream truck and a beat up pickup truck.

They managed to get into the alley when the sound of wheels screeching reached them again. "We're going up." He pointed to the rusty fire escape above them. He cupped his hands and when Raven put her foot in them, he tossed her high enough to begin climbing the ladder. He kicked off the wall and grabbed onto the bottom ladder rung and followed her up.

By the time the SLR swerved into the alley, both Raven and X had climbed up to the third floor fire escape. X popped the clip out of the Taurus, giving it a once over before slamming it back into place. "How accurate are you with that?" he asked as he watched the car slowly move forward.

"Accurate enough. I thought you didn't use guns." Raven's response was quiet as she saw four men get out of the black SLR. They were carrying rifles of an unknown kind.

"Shit… those are XM8's…" X managed to stop himself from cursing even more.

"XM8's?"

"The XM8 Lightweight Assault Rifle. Those are the new military issue assault rifles." He stuck his hand in his pocket, leaning away from the edge of the fire escape and pulled out his cellphone. With a press of a button, he leaned against the locked glass doors that led to the fire escape, quietly while Raven watched the men comb the alley.

"Yo… boss. Kinda need help." He listened for several minutes before answering. "We have at least 4 in a car with XM8's. Yeah, we're on a fire escape a couple floors above them." He listened a bit before hanging up. He got closer to the rail, bringing his Taurus to bear as he closed his left eye.

"I got the one on the left; you take the one on the right." He waited until Raven nodded to him before he fired a precisely placed round, shooting what appeared to be the driver in the head. The body was dropping to the floor when another shot rang out and his partner dropped in a spray of blood. X fired off two more rounds at the remaining two men, getting them to duck while he turned and kicked the glass doors.

Raven followed after him, running down the hallway, with her weapon out of sight. Several bursts of assault rifle fire peppered the empty fire escape while people peeked out of their doors. They took the stairs two at a time as they ran down, with X in the lead. As they both slowed down when climbing down to the first floor, Raven spotted shadows moving at the bottom of the stairs and managed to pull X back before a spray of bullets hit him.

"They didn't wait for back up." Raven shook her head in disgust, while X was watching the bottom of the stairs. "How fast is your draw?" Raven's question got her an offended look from X.

"I'm fast enough. I'm not the Dual Edge for no reason." He shook his head as he turned back to the stairs, muttering about those of little faith. He heard someone step closer to the stairs and Raven ran forward jumping off the top. He bit back a curse as he jumped after her, rolling to a crouch as he opened fire at the enemy on the left.

Seeing as he didn't feel the burn of any bullets hitting him, he assumed that Raven had gotten her target. He picked up the fallen assault rifle, turning it over a couple of times before dropping it back onto the floor. "We should go before the police arrive." Both he and Raven turned to the door, pistols aiming at none other than Trish.

"You're out of bullets." She pointed to X, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Let's go, kiddies." She walked outside, to where both Dante and Vergil stood by the black SLR. "They're getting dangerous. Packing military issue weapons." She shook her head at that.

"They're carrying both our crest and a hellborn insignia." Vergil examined said items, ignoring the smirk on Dante's face as he glanced at X and Raven. X glanced down at one of the fallen XM8's and he grinned as he picked it up.

"I'll be taking this with me," He examined it over before turning to Raven, "Let's go. We'll give you a ride back to your place or your father's business."

"Don't worry. Your old man can't call this a debt; we were just here to pick up our wayward _little _brother." Dante knocked X in the head and walked away towards the car, his words cutting off any argument that might've sprung up.

X slipped his hood on and motioned for Raven to follow him. Raven gave the SLR one last look before she followed X at her own pace, catching sight of the minute amounts of C-4 placed on it. A small muffled explosion reached their ears as they drove away. 'Lunatics. They are lunatics.' She gave a sigh.

_**A/N- and that brings us to the end of number 8…. D No cars, thugs, or innocent buildings were hurt in the production of this. So Adios for now… hope you all enjoyed. **_


	9. Chapter 9 You look left, I look right

_**Well, seems like I've not updated Hard Luck in a long, long time. But now… now, there is an update. Its kinda short and I feel like I've ripped you off after not updating for a long time, but hopefully, I can get back into swing with this chap. **_

"_**We are all dead since we are born. The End is there before anything starts. If to live is to continue learning. The End is when we learn the very last thing. To finally discover the end and learning about it completely, is what death is. We are not allowed to learn about something. Those who cannot transcend death shouldn't learn of anything.**__**" – Bleach, Volume 25, No Shaking Throne.**_

_**9. You look left, I look right… So how'd we end up here?**_

_**Last time on Hard Luck…**_

_X slipped his hood on and motioned for Raven to follow him. Raven gave the SLR one last look before she followed X at her own pace, catching sight of the minute amounts of C-4 placed on it. A small muffled explosion reached their ears as they drove away. 'Lunatics. They are lunatics.' She gave a sigh. _

_**AGX**_

"What can I do for you?" X asked, smoke slowly billowing out of his mouth as he spoke.

"You can die for me…" Raven purred in his ear.

He felt the cold barrel of the gun against his head. The slow, clicking sound as her finger curled on the trigger. He turned to face her and was rewarded with the bright muzzle flash and the booming report of the gun.

_**AGX**_

X sat up with a curse, his left hand on a knife while his right hand held one of his guns. After glancing around his room for a bit, he got out of bed and headed to the kitchen, leaving his weapons behind.

He walked down the stairs, heading for the kitchen when he heard Trish. "What's wrong Vergil? Can't sleep?" The clink of glass was unmistakable and it was followed by a familiar sigh from none other than Vergil.

"Once again, his life is in danger. Genève entrusted his safety in my hands and look at the fuck ups." X was leaning on the wall outside the kitchen, listening. "He's a hot headed fool just like Dante, that's what makes this hard."

"But he's still alive, after all that you and everyone else have taught him." Another clink of the glass followed Trish's voice. "You shouldn't be drinking this much," she cautioned only to be ignored by Vergil who knocked back another drink. "He has some kind of affection towards Scathe's kid, you know?"

"Hard not to notice," Vergil answered with a grunt.

"Are you two done gossiping about me?" X grunted as he entered the kitchen, going to the fridge and pulling out a Monster energy drink. He grabbed a glass and took a seat next to the scowling Vergil, ignoring Trish's glare as well. After opening his drink, he poured half into the glass in front of him and took the whiskey bottle in front of Vergil, pouring some in as well.

"Bad dream?" Trish asked, eyeing the dark copper colored drink in his hands. He didn't drink often, especially just after getting out of bed.

X gave a shrug of his shoulders. "That and Vergil gets irritated when I smoke in the kitchen."

"I don't want you wheezing later on in life."

X rolled his eyes at that, taking a gulp of his drink before looking Vergil in the eyes. "So, what's really bothering you? The fact that I've ignored several of your orders? Or that I've nearly gotten killed twice or three times recently, whichever way you want to look at it."

Trish's hand made a crack as she struck X. The slowly forming hand print glaringly obvious in the dim lit kitchen. Vergil was the first to break the silence that ensued, sighing as he shook his head. X took gulped more of his drink down, arching an eyebrow at Trish as if asking for the reason behind the slap. What he got from the blonde was a glare just short of being murderous.

"That night at the club, you had a woman waiting for the right moment to plant a knife between your ribs or to shoot you, whichever opportunity came first." X gave a small shrug as he motioned for her to continue. "And you've attracted attention from one of Scathe's top level enforcers." X scoffed at that, dismissing the so called danger he'd been in recently.

"Your insignificant fights with Sean Rays, known to you as Storm, are just that. Insignificant." Vergil was the one who spoke now, after taking another drink from the bottle and placing it back on the table. "You attracted his attention when you willingly sold your services to his sister, then you started showing interest in Scathe's daughter," he had a white knuckled grip on the glass in his hands, "Scathe was considering having you eliminated before Father met with him."

"So, I'm supposed to be scared because…" X trailed off as he waited a response.

"Because those fights were nothing serious." Trish's answer was met with a shrug and an eye roll. "Because if he really wanted to, he could kill you."

X dismissed the words with a wave of his hand. "You think Sean can really kill me?"

"Damn it! Don't you get it? There's another player in the city that's trying to get us against each other and you're attracting the attention of a rival leader?" The glass in his hand shattered to pieces against the wall as Vergil stood up, yanking X to his feet. "This isn't a fucking game."

"Never said it was a game." X gulped down the rest of his drink and placed the glass back on the table, "Now, I'd appreciate it if you got out of my face before I punch you."

One moment Trish was watching them stand there, wondering who would back down first. The next moment she was breaking up a fight between them, wondering how stressed out Vergil was to reduce himself to fist fighting with X. After several well placed punches, she managed to get them separated from each other leaving them only the option of glaring at each other.

"What you have to understand is that your sister left your safety in Vergil's hands."

"My sister would still be here if it hadn't been for him." X snarled, his words stunning both Trish and Vergil into silence. He walked off, heading back to his room and shoving past a groggy Dante who stood on the stairs.

"I'll talk to him, Verg. Just leave him alone for now…" Dante grabbed the liquor bottle from the table and followed after X. Vergil sighed as he sat back down, wincing when he ran his hand on his cheek.

"He has a point. It's my fault that she's dead." Trish sighed as she took a seat again, mumbling something about being too early for this level of emotions. A loud yell reached their ears downstairs along with the sound of objects breaking. "I think we woke Setsuna up…" Trish said with a grim smile on her face.

"Ah, _son of a bitch!_" Dante's cursing and the slamming of a car door were the few warnings to be had before Setsuna's dark green Spyder peeled out of the driveway and was gone in seconds.

_**A week later…**_

The bright afternoon sunlight was what brought him out of his sleep when the curtains were pulled back. "Damn it! Close the curtains," he muttered as he tried unsuccessfully to cover his eyes. He gave a sigh as he rolled over, draping his arm around the person next to him and he sank back into the land of sleep.

"Oi, Raven! Time to wake up, luv." X gave a groan, rolling over once more before slowly trying to open his eyes. After a few tries, he succeeded and was rewarded with the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling with pictures of stars, suns and other assorted astronomy related pictures spread across it. He took a few moments to process what he was seeing when he heard the British accented voice speak up once more.

"Is that why you bailed on me last night? Shacking up with a cute guy?" X sat up, letting the cool red silk sheets slide down, exposing his torso as he looked towards the source of the voice.

First thing that caught his eye was the crimson red streaks in her black hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail at the moment, accentuating her smooth pale white skin and her red-brown eyes. There was an A tattooed to her chest, visible because of the unbuttoned black shirt she wore. "Who are you?" X asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before looking around.

"I should be asking you that, mate. You're in my room, naked in my bed and with my best friend."

X snapped back into attention at that. He looked to the left, seeing the bundle of covers cocooning his bedmate. Slowly, he pulled the sheets back and caught sight of the indigo hair before letting them drop back again. "Shit… what'd I do?" he muttered.

"I'd say… you shagged my best friend. That's what I think you've done, anyway." Once again, the room's other occupant announced her presence and X groaned once more before throwing off the silk covers. "You do know you're naked, right?" he snorted at that before standing up and looking for his clothes.

"Least I didn't wake up in bed, naked and next to Dante," X muttered and it was the stranger's turn to laugh a bit, earning a grumble from the still naked male.

"So, is it gonna be one of those shag and run things?" X rolled his eyes and was slipping on his boxers when the ball under the sheets gave a groan. Slowly the sheets were pushed off and a tousled head of indigo hair appeared.

Raven sat up, her eyes partially shut as the sheets fell to her waist, before looking around. "Argent? Is that you?" She took a moment to rub her eyes before she opened them once more, seeing her friend standing there with a grin on her face. "What ar-" She went quiet when she made eye contact with X.

"You… might want to cover up there, Rae." Argent giggled when Raven yelped, pulling the sheets back up and glaring at both her and the partially naked X.

"What the hell did you do?"

"What?! What did I do? Why do you assume I did something?" X stopped searching for his pants, turning to look back at her with an incredulous stare. "What did you do? How's that for a question?" Argent tried to suppress her laughter, failing with an unladylike snort as she watched the byplay between both X and Raven.

"I assume you did something because you're naked… and I'm naked under here." Raven knew in fact that something had occurred but if she didn't voice it, it didn't happen. Argent finally stopped laughing, shrugging off the scowls she was on the receiving end of, as she caught her breath. 'No tiptoeing around the subject' a Cheshire cat grin slowly blossomed across the face.

"Oh, come on. You shagged him or rather he shagged you. That's it. Now get dressed, I'm hungry and with all the work both of you put in, I'll assume you're both hungry." Raven groaned, palming her face while X sighed, slipping on the pants and t-shirt he found. "Come on then, let her get dressed." Argent grabbed X by the arm and pulled him out of the room, leaving Raven alone and cursing as she tried to remember how she'd ended up in this position or rather situation.

_**AGX**_

"So, have you figured out what you're going to tell Raven exactly?" Argent was eating a slice of pizza, watching X smoke another cigarette as they waited for Raven to come down stairs. X gave a shrug, grinding out the cigarette butt into the lid of the pizza box before grabbing a slice for himself. "You're a Dark Knight, right? I saw the tat when you were dressing."

"Yes, very good of you to notice." X replied drolly, taking a bite of pizza. He scowled at Argent, who erupted into another wave of giggles. The music filtering through the room through the cd player's speakers took a faster pace as the song changed, while X finished his pizza. 'How am I going to salvage this?' The thought speared through his mind, already a headache developing as he leaned back on the couch.

Drops of water flew across his face, forcing him to sit up to wipe away the water. "Thanks, I needed that," he replied dryly watching Raven run a comb through her still wet hair from where she stood.

"Go shower. Go." Raven gestured towards the stairs, and with a sigh, X headed towards the bathroom.

"You might want to put away your underwear, just a thought." Argent, who'd fallen silent to listen to the music, laughed while Raven dashed towards the bathroom quickly. 'Oh yeah, baby, you're not getting rid of this one.' Another amused chuckle escaped her lips when Raven came back to the living room, a scowl and a pretty blush spread across her face.

"So where'd you pick him up? Are you keeping him?" Raven's scowl deepened.

_**A/N: Well, it's been a long time since I updated, I hope the touch hasn't been lost. Adios for now and see you all around. R and R, if you have that urge. **_


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